Ricky Stenhouse Jr. broke his silence on the record fine he received for his infamous fight with Kyle Busch following the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race.
The duo had an viral altercation after No. 47 wheelman was sent into the wall by Busch on Lap 2 of the 200-lap race. With $1,000,000 on the line, both drivers were on edge and looking for every edge they could gain early in the race, and the money could’ve gone a long way for Stenhouse Jr.’s single-car team.
A large contingent agreed that on the ensuing replay, it looked like Stenhouse didn’t really do anything wrong to Busch. He ran up the middle and Busch got into the wall. So, the No. 47 wheelman was certainly stewing over the situation, and ended up confronting Busch after the race, resulting in an epic brawl.
Afterwards, Stenhouse was fined $75,000 while his dad, Ricky Sr., was suspended indefinitely. JTG Daugherty Racing mechanic Clint Myrick received an eight-race suspension and tuner Keith Matthews was levied a four-race suspension. Busch was not issued any fine or penalty from NASCAR.
Evidently, that hasn’t exactly sat well with Stenhouse Jr. over the last couple of weeks, as he relayed that he hasn’t even been able to make his case to NASCAR in the time since. He recognized he was going to be punished, but the enormous fine was much more than he anticipated receiving.
“I still haven’t gotten to really make my point yet to NASCAR,” Stenhouse Jr. revealed, via this week’s edition of 12 Questions with Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “I did on the phone; we talked back and forth for three or four days. But I still haven’t sat down with them. And I’ve got a lot of questions.
“I figured there would be some kind of (penalty), right? Suspensions, fines, whatever. Obviously, I didn’t think it was going to be that high. And I didn’t think my crew guys would be out that long. But I also felt like at least one or two of his crew guys would have been also in that same situation. So I’ve got a lot of questions I have to ask, and maybe I can get back to you on that.”
At the least, Stenhouse Jr. realizes that he wasn’t innocent, but the record-setting fine from NASCAR is certainly something he doesn’t agree with, and many drivers said the same when the news dropped.
Perhaps NASCAR was trying to make an example of the former Daytona 500 winner. Whether that’s fair or not is for the public to judge, but it doesn’t seem as if Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has received an explanation that he’s satisfied with since the punishment was levied.
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