NASCAR's Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fined $75K for punching Kyle Busch; crew suspended
May 22 (UPI) -- NASCAR fined Ricky Stenhouse Jr., issued multi-race suspensions to his crew and banned his father for their roles in a fight with Kyle Busch and his crew after the 2024 All-Star Race, the racing association said Wednesday.
Stenhouse received a $75,000 fine for punching Busch after the race, which occurred Sunday at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, N.C.
The punch, prompted by Busch wrecking Stenhouse's car and forcing him out of the race on the second lap, triggered a melee between their crews -- and Richard Stenhouse Sr. -- in the pit area.
NASCAR did not announce any disciplinary measures levied against Busch or his crew.
"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. ... 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."
Stenhouse's father received an indefinite suspension; Clint Myrick, a mechanic for his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team, was suspended for the next eight Cup Series races; and tuner Keith Matthews received a four-race ban.
Stenhouse spoke about the melee during an appearance Monday on the Stacking Pennis podcast with Corey LaJoie. He said it wouldn't have occurred if North Wilkesboro Speedway had a tunnel under the track, allowing inactive drivers to travel out of the infield area and leave the campus during the race.
Instead, Stenhouse drove his car into Busch's pit stall after he slammed into the wall. He also climbed a ladder to exchange words with Busch's crew before meeting his race rival near his car's hauler. Busch and Stenhouse then had a heated conversation and a post-race scuffle.
"If there would have been a tunnel, I would have been at home at the end of the race," Stenhouse said. " I would not have sat around. When you are stuck in there, I felt like I kinda got calm. Then, all the sudden I was like I'm still here."
Stenhouse, who said during the melee that he would crash Busch at the next race, said Monday he changed his mind.
The Cup Series season will continue with the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race will start at 6 p.m. from Concord, N.C., and air on Fox.
"I'm not going to crash him at Charlotte," Stenhouse said of Busch. "Then that just keeps it going. So, as far as my end goes, I'm feel like I'm past it."
Stenhouse has yet to win this season. He sits in 26th in the Cup Series standings. Stenhouse's 2023 Daytona 500 victory was his only win since 2017.
Busch, who also hasn't won this season, sits in 13th in the Cup Series standings. He won three Cup Series races in 2023.
