The All-Star Race witnessed fireworks both in the sky and on the racetrack. After Joey Logano cruised into Victory Lane, a storm was brewing near Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 trawler. A fight broke out between the RCR team and the JTG Daugherty No. 47 team after the drivers let their fists fly. Although the brawl ended evenly, the circumstances that led to it did not favor Kyle Busch.
Busch might have stretched it too far after Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s light first-lap tactics. The RCR driver issued a hard hit at No. 47 until it slammed against the wall. Hence, Kyle Busch is gaining all the negative feedback from fans and even one NASCAR veteran.
Kenny Wallace questioned Kyle Busch’s tactics!
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Kyle Busch had nurtured a rowdy reputation throughout the 15 years of his career. When he brushed up against veterans like Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. around his team-shifting procedure in 2022, the villain podium was given to Denny Hamlin. But now the black hat role is calling again, as Kyle Busch wrecked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to vent his frustration.
Fans were particularly miffed at Busch’s unnecessary aggression. Kenny Wallace- veteran Xfinity racer- recently tuned into YouTube to share his take and instantly sided with Stenhouse’s jaw-breaking punches. “I tell you what, right there, that’s called passion… Competition to kill you.” Then Wallace dropped a 9-word justification for Stenhouse’s rage: “You know, sometimes, you mess with the bull, you get the horn, just like old Jimmy Spencer said. If you don’t think people don’t want it bad, if you don’t think Ricky Stenhouse wants it, you just saw what happened right there.”
Wallace also narrated how the ugly turn of events was thoroughly unexpected. “I gotta tell you when I was watching that video of the fight…I thought, well, Ricky Stenhouse is not going to do nothing. Ricky Stenhouse needs to be a poker player. When I was watching, I was like this and I went, ‘Whoa!’”
Kyle Busch marches to the hauler, is confronted by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and punches are thrown pic.twitter.com/qy5aiuEKYJ
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) May 20, 2024
Further in the discussion, Wallace then sported his cheeky smile and marveled at the fight that beat all other aspects of the All-Star Race, noting, “I mean, he went after Kyle Busch. What a punch! That was a real fight… That fight should have taken place on the front straightaway, so all the fans could have seen it.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. also harbored sentiments similar to those of Kenny Wallace, calling for more such drama on other tracks. The famous driver’s reference, which Wallace used to support Stenhouse, is significant. Evidently, Jimmy Spencer had once locked horns with another member of the Busch family.
When Kurt Busch received a fierce punch!
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Before Kyle Busch appeared on the NASCAR scene, his brother Kurt Busch raced the tracks. In 2003, he faced the wrath of a veteran twice his size, Jimmy Spencer. Apparently, senior Busch tried to overtake Spencer at a Michigan race. Later, Busch ran out of gas near Spencer’s trawler, and then the angry driver took his chance. Spencer punched Busch in the face, giving him an injured nose and a chipped tooth.
Unlike Stenhouse rallying fans’ support, Spencer’s actions were over-the-top. NASCAR President Mike Helton agreed: “This was a very unfortunate situation. Emotions are a part of every sport, NASCAR Winston Cup racing included. However, there is a fine line. In this instance, that fine line was crossed.”
What was the aftermath? Well, Spencer was fined $25,000 for his actions and also placed on probation through the end of the year. In fact, Kurt Busch was also put on probation.
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But coming back to the Kyle Busch-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fight, the former did not receive any punishment. Why? Because the conversation Busch and Stenhouse were having seemed like a heated argument until Stenhouse threw the first punch. This soon became a brawl. “I felt like I went into an ambush blind with him and his team and having an idea that they were all kind of set up in different areas. But tried to hold my own the best I could fighting off five different guys and came out of there with no black eyes,” Kyle Busch stated later.
UPDATE: NASCAR has imposed a fine on Stenhouse. The driver will have to pay $75,000 from his pocket for fighting Kyle Busch at the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. This is the largest fine handed down by NASCAR for fighting. Stenhouse’s father, who was a part of the uproar, has been suspended indefinitely.