NASCAR fined Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. $75,000 and suspended his father and two JTG Daugherty Racing crew members in a fight that broke out after Sunday night’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Stenhouse, who was eliminated from the race due to an on-track accident, confronted Kyle Busch after the race and, after exchanging words, threw a punch to Busch’s head. Bush was not fined or punished.
Stenhouse’s father, Ricky Stenhouse Sr., was suspended indefinitely for his involvement in the physical altercation, following NASCAR’s past precedent of opposing family members injecting themselves into confrontations.
Two crew members from Stenhouse’s team, JTG Daugherty Racing, were also suspended on related charges. NASCAR suspended team mechanic Clint Myrick from eight races and tuner Keith Matthews was banned for four weeks.
Wednesday’s penalty was the fallout from an accident between Stenhouse and Busch during the opening lap of the All-Star Race, which became the catalyst for a post-race fight in the garage.
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Stenhouse slams Busch after the NASCAR All-Star Race.
The chain of events began when Busch became angry at what he considered Stenhouse’s overly aggressive moves on lap 1, prompting Busch to retaliate on the next circuit by spinning Stenhouse’s car and crashing it into the wall. The car was too badly damaged to continue, so Stenhouse parked his Chevrolet in Busch’s pit stall and then got out and climbed a ladder, yelling at Busch’s team.
Stenhouse vowed revenge in a national television interview on FS1 and essentially said he was waiting for Busch after the 200-lap race. Almost 90 minutes later, and after the checkered flag had waved, Stenhouse was waiting for Busch in the garage and was driving RCR No. 18 when Busch approached. 8 It was leaning casually against the team carrier.
After exchanging words about the track incident, Stenhouse punched Busch, sparking a melee between team members in which Ricky Stenhouse Sr. shoved Busch. Stenhouse Jr. heard his father and Busch say “daddy” several times as they pushed, and Busch appeared to throw a punch at the older Stenhouse.
The fight was over in seconds, but video of the incident went viral.
Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. compete after the All-Star Race. pic.twitter.com/IJMttBw90W
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) May 20, 2024
“I don’t know why he was so upset,” Stenhouse Jr. told FS1 after the game. “I pushed it in three directions but he hit the fence, fell off the wall and ran towards me. Well, when I talked to him, he kept saying that I ruined him.
“I was definitely frustrated with the way he always mouthed off about me. “But I think he’s frustrated because he’s not running as well as he used to.”
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, told SiriusXM that officials decided not to punish Busch for the crash that occurred before the race because they did not believe it was entirely intentional.
“As a sanctioning body, we avoid on-orbit accidents unless we see something blatantly coming back at us,” Sawyer said. “We’ll let those people decide and agree to disagree.”
Sawyer said crew members and families are not allowed to “lay their hands on our athletes,” but declined to get into specific reasoning because the punishment is subject to appeal. He said NASCAR fined Stenhouse Jr. because he still decided to make physical contact with Busch despite the long wait following the track incident.
NASCAR handled the Stenhouse-Busch brawl similar to how it handled last fall’s fight after a Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway involving the parents.
In that situation, Matt Crafton, who crashed out of the race, waited for Nick Sanchez to confront him after the race. Crafton threw a punch that broke Sanchez’s nose. Crafton was fined $25,000, Sanchez was not punished, and Sanchez’s father was suspended from two races for his involvement in the altercation.
In general, NASCAR tolerates physical confrontations between drivers if they occur immediately without either of them having time to cool off. NASCAR is not very lenient when it comes to parents getting involved and usually imposes suspensions.
Why did NASCAR issue these penalties?
Let’s start with the crew and Stenhouse Sr.
Historically, NASCAR viewed its crews similar to how the NHL views “third parties” for its fighting rules. NASCAR is somewhat okay with drivers taking matters into their own hands (so only fines and no suspensions for Stenhouse, and no fines at all for Busch). But NASCAR never wants its drivers to be assaulted by third parties and has discouraged such behavior through harsh penalties that send a message.
Stenhouse Sr. is not a crew member, so it would be somewhat easy for NASCAR to issue an indefinite suspension for his role. But he also aggressively pursued Busch, whom he highly frowned upon as a family member.
For Myrick and Matthews, the punishment seems a bit harsh compared to the past. This is especially true for Myrick. Eight races is a lot, especially for a mechanic on a mid-sized team. However, NASCAR likely felt that Myrick was particularly over-the-top in his role, which would certainly send a message to other crew members not to engage in future battles.
(Photo: Peter Casey / USA Today)
