Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 by NASCAR after fighting Kyle Busch following Sunday's All-Star Race at North Carolina's North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Busch was not penalized.
The altercation occurred in the pits after Busch wrecked Stenhouse's car on the second lap of the race:
Stenhouse's father was suspended indefinitely for his involvement. Two members of Stenhouse's team also faced penalties, as mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for eight races and engine tuner Keith Matthews for four.
The conflict came after a series of bumps from Busch's car sent Stenhouse's into the retaining wall:
Stenhouse then parked the wrecked car in Busch's pit, where the two argued about who caused the collision.
The argument ended with Stenhouse throwing a punch, and his father also getting involved in the altercation.
Stenhouse said after the brawl that his fight with Busch was the result of "built-up frustration."
"I wrecked him one time at Daytona, and he's been kind of bad-mouthing me ever since then," Stenhouse said, per NASCAR.com's Zack Albert. "I feel like we get along with each other okay outside the race track. I talk to him quite a bit. I'm not sure why he was so mad that — I shoved it three-wide, but he hit the fence and kind of came off the wall and ran into me, and when I was talking to him, he kept saying that I wrecked him."
Busch declined an interview after the fight, per FOX Sports 1 and NASCAR reporter Chris Knight.
NASCAR's decision to fine Stenhouse and penalize his father falls in line with precedent, under which the company generally issues harsher punishments to non-drivers involved in physical altercations, FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass noted.
In the past, NASCAR has declined to fine drivers who started fights just after getting out of their car, Pockrass reported. The fact that Stenhouse waited to meet Busch at his hauler might have contributed to the penalty.
NASCAR will now be keeping a close eye on Stenhouse and Busch during the upcoming Coca-Cola 600, during which Stenhouse said he would wreck Busch. The 1.5-mile race takes place Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Read 69 Comments
Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation