Why Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Kyle Busch weren't suspended over fight by NASCAR but others were

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 Wednesday for punching Kyle Busch after the two NASCAR Cup Series drivers engaged in an altercation following the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway Sunday night.

Two of Stenhouse's crew members from the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Team were suspended. Stenhouse's father Ricky was also suspended indefinitely for violations of the NASCAR Race Member Code of Conduct.

Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Team did not receive any penalties.

Stenhouse's team mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for the next eight Cup Series races (through Pocono Raceway on July 14) for his role, and tuner Keith Matthews was suspended for the next four Cup Series events (through Iowa Speedway on June 16).

“I think it’s fair to say that when you have crew members and family members that put their hands on our drivers, we’re going to react,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer said Wednesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “There’s not a lot of detail I’m going to get into due to the fact that these are appealable penalties, and I want to make sure that we’re fair to that process. “With that being said, and we’ve been consistent about this, when crew members and family members get involved, we are going to react. That’s exactly what we did.”

The incident stemmed from back-and-forth contact early in the non-points race. Busch ran into Stenhouse's No. 47 Chevrolet causing the Camaro ZL1 to hit the wall. The lap 2 crash knocked Stenhouse out of the race.

Stenhouse parked his car in Busch’s pit stall then climbed over the wall and let Busch's crew know he was unhappy. Before being taken to the infield care center Stenhouse conducted a television interview where he said he planned to confront Busch after the race.

Stenhouse waited for Busch’s arrival at the No. 8 hauler after the race. The heated discussion escalated when Stenhouse threw a right punch to the side of Busch's face. After both drivers hit the ground Stenhouse's father intervened then both crews got involved.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ricky Stenhouse Jr fined for Kyle Busch fight. NASCAR suspends 2 crew