After Sunday night’s fight between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch, NASCAR could turn around and impose penalties. But will that be the case here?
NASCAR has allowed drivers to fight each other and let it go. Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson last year at Kansas is a good example of that. However, there are times when they get involved and dole out punishments.
The fight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. could be one of those cases. Recall that Stenhouse had two hours to sit down and calm down, but he still insisted on confronting Busch verbally and physically with the transporters.
Matt Crafton did something similar to Nick Sanchez last year after the Truck Series race at Talladega. Crafton received a fine for that. Let’s also remember that Ricky Stenhouse Sr. also messed with Kyle Busch. That’s a big no-no.
FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass has been around NASCAR for years. In his opinion, we could see a similar fine for Stenhouse Jr. to what Crafton received last year. Additionally, Stenhouse’s father could also receive a suspension for his actions.
The most recent Crafton-Sánchez precedent. Stenhouse’s father would be expected to face a suspension. NASCAR fined Crafton $25,000 because he had time to cool down, so a possible fine for StenhouseJr is to be expected. under the same philosophy. Anything else remains to be determined if any crew member threw a punch. https://t.co/ieCiIRMMjv
—Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 20, 2024
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after the fight also yelled that he was going to destroy Kyle Busch in Charlotte. Those are the things you say in the heat of the moment right after a fight. NASCAR likely won’t do anything in response to that specific moment.
Doubtful. Suspensions usually come only with an egregious and dangerous (in my terms) retaliatory move on the track. https://t.co/t2a7Wb7pKp
—Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 20, 2024
Now, NASCAR can always do whatever it wants, more or less. Therefore, sanctions, fines or punishments may look a little different in the end. Every situation is unique and NASCAR has a variety of options at its disposal.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. steals the All-Star Game show with fight
It’s unfortunate that the only time Joey Logano and his team have a full weekend and dominate a race is overlooked. Logano has been searching for running speed all season. The only night he has it, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. decides to fight and steal the headlines.
Is NASCAR the only sport where winning $1,000,000 can be overshadowed by a 15-second fight? Possibly. The thing is, Stenhouse Jr. told everyone what he was going to do and when he was going to do it. He didn’t hide his intentions at all.
Stenhouse told Busch’s crew chief he would wait for him. He then told FOX on air that Richard Childress might have to wait. After that, he went to the media center and told everyone once again that he would wait for Busch and that we would all have to wait to see what he would do.
Finally, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got in there and the fight started. You can’t say he didn’t warn him, his team, the media, NASCAR and everyone watching the national television broadcast. Still, he could face punishment from the governing body due to the premeditation of all of this.
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