Following a violent altercation between Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch and their team members (and even a family member), NASCAR must now determine what, if any, sanctions to impose on those involved the fight that took place after Sunday’s All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
In the first round of the non-points race, Stenhouse Busch made an aggressive move and Busch ended up in the wall, which led to Busch intentionally running over Stenhouse and eliminating him on lap two. After the race, Stenhouse was standing next to Busch’s truck as the driver of the No. 8 car approached. After a short conversation, Stenhouse struck out and started a fight as team members got involved.
Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into an argument after the NASCAR All-Star race ????
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— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 20, 2024
By NASCARUnder the rules, anyone involved is subject to disciplinary action if the incident becomes physical. Based on that wording, Stenhouse, Busch and various members of their teams, JTG Daugherty Racing and Richard Childress Racing, face possible sanctions up to and including suspension.
However, given past precedent, it is unlikely that Stenhouse and Busch will be suspended. NASCAR RCR is fairly lenient on drivers who fight, and typically only fines them in such cases. And of the two drivers, Stenhouse is the more likely to be fined, as he would be considered the instigator, having waited for Busch at the RCR truck and thrown the first punch.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s father is also facing disciplinary action. Ricky Stenhouse Sr. called out Busch after his son hit him, and the elder Stenhouse and Busch got into a physical fight.
While NASCAR is often lenient when it comes to driver-to-driver confrontations, the same threshold doesn’t always apply to family members who get involved.
Last year, Truck Series driver Nick Sanchez’s father was suspended for two races after getting involved in a fight between his son and Matt Crafton after a race at Talladega Superspeedway. Crafton was fined $25,000 for throwing a punch that broke Sanchez’s nose. Sanchez was not penalized.
Any sanctions imposed by NASCAR will likely be announced midweek.
Busch considered Stenhouse’s approach too aggressive.
“I’m tired of getting knocked down by everybody,” Busch said. “But that’s what everybody does. Everybody knocks down everybody to get past everybody.”
After Stenhouse was evaluated and released from the indoor care center, he said during a televised interview with Fox Sports that he would wait for Busch once the 200-lap race was over, hinting at what was to come after the race.
Stenhouse even referenced a previous incident between Busch, then driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and team owner Richard Childress, when Childress handed his wristwatch to his grandson Austin Dillon and said “hold my watch” before punching Busch after an on-track incident between Busch and an RCR driver during a 2011 Truck Series race. (Busch joined RCR in 2023.)
“Maybe Richard would hold my watch after the race,” Stenhouse said.
True to his word, Stenhouse was waiting for Busch after the All-Star race, leaning against the RCR truck. And when Busch got to the truck, he walked up to him and the two exchanged a few words. After a brief exchange, Stenhouse threw a punch at Busch, sparking the melee.
“I don’t really know why he was so mad,” Stenhouse told FS1. “I pushed him three abreast, but he hit the fence and kind of came off the wall and hit me. I don’t know, when I was talking to him, he kept saying I destroyed him.”
“I’ve definitely built up some frustration because of the way he talks about me all the time. I know he’s frustrated because he’s not running as well as he used to.”
Both drivers are struggling this season after a successful 2023. Stenhouse was a surprise winner of the Daytona 500 and made the playoffs last year. Busch won three races a year ago and finished fifth in the regular-season standings. Neither has a win so far in 2024.
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(Photo of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s wrecked car during Sunday’s All-Star race: James Gilbert/Getty Images)
