Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fined $75K after brawl with Kyle Busch at NASCAR All-Star Race
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got fined.
The driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet received a $75,000 penalty on Wednesday morning after initiating the heated fistfight following Sunday’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Busch did not receive any penalties.
Stenhouse Jr. threw a right hook at Kyle Busch following the race, and a brawl making national headlines ensued. He was waiting for Busch at his hauler after the No. 8 car wrecked him early in an uneventful race. The drivers confronted each other in the garage area, and Stenhouse Jr. took the first swing.
Teammates of both Stenhouse Jr. and Busch quickly got involved, many throwing punches as well. Clint Myrick, the mechanic for the 47 team, received an eight-race suspension from NASCAR (through Pocono in mid-July). Keith Matthews, Stenhouse team’s tuner, got a four-race suspension (through Iowa next month).
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s father — Richard Stenhouse — laid some punches on Busch himself and has been suspended indefinitely.
A bit of the post-race melee from my view. Kyle Busch to Ricky Stenhouse: “Look at what you started you f—— b—,” adding, “I sucked just as bad as you. Let it go!” pic.twitter.com/SdVYzxTbZK
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) May 20, 2024
“When you have crew members and family members that put their hands on our athletes, our drivers, we’re going to react,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said Wednesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR radio.
Stenhouse Jr. says he won’t wreck Busch at Charlotte; Childress comments
Stenhouse Jr. initially said he was going to wreck Busch in this week’s Coca-Cola 600 — but walked those remarks back.
“I told him I might crash him at Charlotte — I’m not gonna crash him at Charlotte,” Stenhouse Jr. said on the “Stacking Penalties” podcast with Corey LaJoie. “Then that just keeps it going. As far as my end goes, I feel like I’m passed it.”
Still, Busch’s team owner chimed in this week at the Helping A Hero Patriot Award Dinner.
“I would have jumped right in the middle of it,” Richard Childress told reporters Tuesday. “I would’ve started fighting. I don’t fight as fair as I used to; I’m a little older. But Ricky Stenhouse said that he was going to wreck the 8 car at Charlotte.
“Well, when I see him, I’m gonna tell him. If he does, I’m older, but I just changed my style of fighting. And he’ll carry a rough a** beating.”
