NASCAR fined Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. $75,000 and suspended his father and two JTG Daugherty Racing team members for their involvement in a car crash last week. for his role in a brawl following the All-Star Game at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday night.
Stenhouse, upset about a track incident that took him out of the race, confronted Kyle Busch after the race and punched Busch in the head after they spoke. There were no fines or penalties for giving.
Stenhouse’s father, Ricky Stenhouse Sr., has been suspended indefinitely for his role in the physical altercation, and NASCAR has a history of objecting to family members injecting drugs during conflicts.
Two staff members from JTG Daugherty Racing, the Stenhouse team, were also suspended for their involvement. NASCAR team mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended eight games and tuner Keith Matthews was suspended four weeks.
Wednesday’s penalty was the fallout from an incident between Stenhouse and Busch during the first few laps of the All-Star race, which served as the catalyst for a post-race garage brawl.
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Stenhouse punches and kicks Busch after NASCAR All-Star Game
The sequence of events began when Busch became unhappy with what he considered Stenhouse’s overly aggressive behavior on the first lap, prompting Busch to retaliate on the next track, spinning Stenhouse’s car and sending him into the wall. With the car too damaged to continue driving, Stenhouse parked the Chevrolet in Busch’s pits, got out, climbed a ladder and yelled at Busch’s team.
Stenhouse later vowed revenge in a nationally televised interview on FS1, essentially saying he would wait for Busch after the 200-lap race. Nearly 90 minutes later, shortly after the checkered flag waved, Stenhouse was waiting for Busch in the garage, casually leaning against the RCR No. 8 team transporter as Busch approached.
After an exchange about the track incident, Stenhouse punched and kicked Busch, sparking a scuffle among team members that included Ricky Stenhouse Sr. pushing Busch. As his father and Busch clashed, the younger Stenhouse could be heard yelling “daddy” multiple times, and Busch appeared to punch the elder Stenhouse.
The fight was over within seconds, but footage of the incident went viral.
Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fight after the All-Star Game. pic.twitter.com/IJMttBw90W
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) May 20, 2024
“I don’t know why he was so angry,” Stenhouse Jr. told FS1 after the game. “I pushed the ball beyond three, but he hit the fence and came off the wall and hit me. I don’t know, when I talked to him, he kept saying I ruined him.
“He’s always nagging me and it’s definitely frustrating for me. But I know he’s frustrated because he’s not running as well as he used to.
NASCAR senior vice president of racing Elton Sawyer told SiriusXM that officials chose not to penalize Busch for the crash before the race because they believed it was not entirely intentional.
“As a sanctioning body, we really don’t get involved in incidents on the track unless we see something blatant happening,” Sawyer said. “We’ll let those people decide and agree to disagree.”
Sawyer reiterated that crew members and families are not allowed to “put their hands on our athletes,” but declined to elaborate on why, as penalties can be appealed. He said NASCAR fined Stenhouse Jr. because he decided to get a physical with Busch despite waiting a long time after the on-track incident.
The way NASCAR handled the Stenhouse-Busch melee was similar to a fight that took place after a Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway last fall that involved parents.
In this case, Matt Crafton, who exited the game, waited for Nick Sanchez to confront him after the game. Crafton broke Sanchez’s nose with one punch. Crafton was fined $25,000 and Sanchez, whose father was suspended two games for his involvement in the altercation, was not fined.
Typically, NASCAR tolerates physical altercations between drivers as long as they occur immediately and neither side has time to cool down. When parents get involved, NASCAR is less forgiving and often responds with a suspension.
Why NASCAR issued these penalties
Let’s start with the crew and Stenhouse Sr.
Historically, NASCAR’s attitude towards its personnel has been similar to the NHL’s attitude towards the “third man” in its game rules. NASCAR allows drivers, to a certain extent, to take matters into their own hands (so there was only a fine and no suspension for Stenhouse, and no penalty at all for Busch). But NASCAR absolutely does not want drivers to be attacked by third parties, and uses severe penalties to send a message to discourage this behavior.
The elder Stenhouse is not a crew member, making it easier for NASCAR to suspend his role indefinitely. But he also aggressively pursues Busch, who is deeply unpopular as a member of the family.
As for Myrick and Matthews, the penalties do seem a bit harsh compared to the past — especially for Myrick. Eight races is a lot, especially for a mechanic on a mid-sized team. But NASCAR must have felt that Myrick was being particularly egregious in his role, which certainly sent a message to the rest of the crew not to get involved in future fights.
(Photo: Peter Casey/USA Today)
