NASCAR Issues Severe Penalties Following Ricky Stenhouse-Kyle Busch Fight

NASCAR announced a series of penalties in response to the post-race altercation between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The incident, which involved Stenhouse punching Busch, led to disciplinary actions against multiple Stenhouse’s No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team members. Stenhouse has been fined $75,000 for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.4.D in the NASCAR Rule Book) by initiating the fight.

The penalties for non-driver participants were even harsher. JTG Daugherty Racing tuner Keith Matthews received a four-race suspension for his involvement, while mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for eight races. Ricky’s father and a non-competitor, Richard Stenhouse, was indefinitely suspended after engaging Busch.

Busch, who provoked Stenhouse by pushing him into the wall on the second lap in retaliation for earlier contact, was not fined for his role in the incident. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer suggested that the deliberate nature of Stenhouse’s actions contributed to the severity of the penalties. Stenhouse had hinted in post-race interviews that he intended to confront Busch, which he did, as the only exit was a crossover gate on the backstretch, trapping both drivers on the track.

“When you wait 198 laps, and you make those decisions that were made, again, we’re going to react to that,” Sawyer said on SiriusXM. “Once we get to the point where it gets physical, we want the two drivers to be able to have time to express their differences. Once it escalates to a physical altercation, we are going to react.”

Sawyer also acknowledged that North Wilkesboro Speedway’s unique layout, lacking a tunnel or crossover bridge, complicated the situation. However, he emphasized that better decisions could have been made between the on-track incident and the post-race confrontation.

The penalties from the Stenhouse-Busch fight were the highlight of NASCAR’s weekly penalty report. Craftsman Truck Series crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz was fined $10,000 for an unsecured lug nut on Grant Enfinger’s truck, and Dawson Backus, rear tire changer for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck, was suspended for one race due to non-conforming protective equipment.

In the Xfinity Series, Rowan Mason, a No. 5 Our Motorsports team mechanic, was indefinitely suspended for violating NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy.

Article by Nathaniel Marshall