NASCAR fined Cup Sequence driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. $75,000 and suspended his father and two JTG Daugherty Racing crew members for his or her roles in a struggle that occurred following Sunday evening’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Upset about an on-track incident that knocked him out of the race, Stenhouse confronted Kyle Busch after the race, then threw a punch at Busch’s head after they exchanged phrases. Busch was not fined or penalized.
Stenhouse’s dad, Ricky Stenhouse Sr., was suspended indefinitely for becoming a member of the bodily altercation, following previous precedent the place NASCAR objects to relations injecting themselves in confrontations.
Two crew members for JTG Daugherty Racing, Stenhouse’s workforce, have been additionally suspended for his or her involvement. NASCAR suspended workforce mechanic Clint Myrick for eight races and tuner Keith Matthews obtained a four-week ban.
Wednesday’s penalties are the fallout from an incident between Stenhouse and Busch in the course of the opening laps of the All-Star Race, which grew to become the catalyst to the post-race struggle within the storage.
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Stenhouse punches Busch after NASCAR All-Star Race
The chain of occasions started with Busch upset over what he thought-about an excessively aggressive transfer by Stenhouse on Lap 1, prompting Busch to retaliate on the subsequent circuit by turning Stenhouse’s automobile and sending him crashing into the wall. Along with his automobile too badly broken to proceed, Stenhouse parked his Chevrolet in Busch’s pit stall earlier than exiting and climbing a ladder to yell at Busch’s workforce.
Stenhouse then vowed revenge throughout a nationwide tv interview on FS1, basically stating he’d be ready for Busch after the 200-lap race. Almost 90 minutes later, and moments after the checkered flag waved, Stenhouse waited for Busch within the storage, casually leaning in opposition to the RCR No. 8 workforce hauler when Busch approached.
After exchanging phrases concerning the monitor incident, Stenhouse punched Busch, triggering a melee between members of their groups that included Ricky Stenhouse Sr. shoving Busch. Stenhouse Jr. could possibly be heard saying “Dad” a number of occasions as his father and Busch jostled, with Busch showing to throw a punch on the older Stenhouse.
The struggle was over inside seconds, however a video of the incident went viral.
Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. struggle after the All-Star Race. pic.twitter.com/IJMttBw90W
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) Could 20, 2024
“I’m undecided why he was so mad,” Stenhouse Jr. instructed FS1 after the struggle. “I shoved it three-wide, however he hit the fence and type of got here off the wall and bumped into me. I don’t know, after I was speaking to him, he saved saying that I wrecked him.
“Positively constructed up frustration with how he runs his mouth on a regular basis about myself. However I do know he’s pissed off as a result of he doesn’t run close to pretty much as good as he used to.”
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice chairman of competitors, instructed SiriusXM that officers opted to not penalize Busch for the crash that preceded the struggle as a result of they didn’t view it as fully intentional.
“We actually, as a sanctioning physique, keep out of the on-track incidents until we see one thing that blatantly comes again to us,” Sawyer stated. “We’ll let these guys determine and conform to disagree.”
Sawyer reiterated crew members and relations will not be permitted to “put their arms on our athletes” however declined to enter the particular reasoning because of the penalties being topic to enchantment. He stated NASCAR fined Stenhouse Jr. as a result of he nonetheless determined to get bodily with Busch regardless of the lengthy wait after the on-track incident.
NASCAR dealt with the Stenhouse-Busch scuffle equally to the way it dealt with a struggle final fall after a Truck Sequence race at Talladega Superspeedway that included a dad or mum collaborating.
In that scenario, Matt Crafton, who crashed out of the race, waited for Nick Sanchez after the race to confront him. Crafton threw a punch that broke Sanchez’s nostril. Crafton was fined $25,000, Sanchez was not penalized, and Sanchez’s father was suspended two races for involving himself within the altercation.
Usually, NASCAR tolerates bodily confrontations between drivers offered they happen instantly afterward with no time for both to chill down. NASCAR isn’t as lenient when dad and mom contain themselves, often reacting by issuing a suspension.
Why NASCAR issued these penalties
Let’s begin with the crew members and Stenhouse Sr.
Traditionally, NASCAR has seen crew members equally to how the NHL views the “third man in” for its struggle guidelines. NASCAR is considerably OK with drivers settling issues themselves (thus solely a positive and no suspension for Stenhouse, and no penalties in any respect for Busch). However NASCAR completely doesn’t need drivers being assaulted by a 3rd celebration and has discouraged such conduct via harsh penalties to ship a message.
Stenhouse Sr. isn’t a crew member, so it’s considerably simpler for NASCAR to situation an indefinite suspension for his function. However he additionally aggressively went after Busch, which is extremely frowned upon as a member of the family.
As for Myrick and Matthews, the penalties do appear a bit extreme in comparison with the previous — notably for Myrick. Eight races is quite a bit, particularly for a mechanic on a mid-sized workforce. However NASCAR should have felt Myrick was notably extreme along with his function, and it definitely sends a message to different crew members to not become involved in future fights.
(Picture: Peter Casey / USA At this time)
