Ricky Stenhouse Jr Left Baffled After NASCAR’s Record-Breaking Penalty Eclipses Tony Stewart’s $50,000 Punishment

NASCAR officials came down heavily on Ricky Stenhouse Jr and his team after the post-race brawl with Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Officials issued a hefty fine of $75,000 to the JTG Daughtery Racing driver for punching a fellow Cup Series driver. While also handing suspensions to two crew members from the No. 47 team.

This was indeed the biggest fine NASCAR has brandished on a driver involved in a physical altercation. Tony Stewart, involved in a fight at Sonoma back in 2004, was issued a $50,00 fine, which was the biggest fine until the officials came down heavy on Stenhouse and his crew. The 2023 Daytona 500 winner did question the hefty fine but also stated that his team will take time to decide whether or not to appeal the decision.

Stenhouse Jr penalized, while Kyle Busch was let off the hook

NASCAR typically does not fine drivers for getting involved in a physical fight. However, Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s efforts were premeditated, and he deliberately chose to confront Kyle Busch with a punch. Apart from the heavy fine, team mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for eight races, and tuner Keith Matthews was handed a four-race suspension.

While the JTG team can appeal against these suspensions and fines, for the time being, they are focused on their next race. “Yeah, I think it’s a bit excessive, but at the same time, you know it’s NASCAR’s decision, and also our team was trying to figure everything out. What next steps to take and not to take (…) And right now, we’re super focused on making sure that we’re all prepared and ready for Charlotte this weekend. Everybody at the shop has been working hard and that truly is what we’re focused on.” Ricky Stenhouse Jr said.

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who intentionally took the No. 47 car out of the All-Star race, was given a clean chit. Questioning the disparity in brandishing fines and penalties, the JTG Daughtery Racing driver added, “If I was going to get a fine, it was larger than what I was expecting but like I said, it’s part of it, and I still think Kyle crashing on purpose was a pretty big deal in my opinion but they didn’t see it that way.”

NASCAR’s Senior Vice President, Elton Sawyer, explained in a separate interview why they took a certain course of action against the No. 47 team.

NASCAR doesn’t appreciate crew or family members getting involved in a fight

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One thing was clear, Ricky Stenhouse Jr and his crew members were ready to escalate the situation after being wrecked out early in the race. Just when Kyle Busch was trying to cool down any tempers, the JTG Daughtery driver landed a surprise punch on the 2-time Cup Series champion, and the next thing you know, all hell broke loose.

Even in the chaos, the crew members from JTG were at the forefront; two of them even tried to strangle Busch. Even Stenhouse Sr got involved in the ruckus, trying to get his hands on Rowdy, which did warrant his suspension. The RCR crew only acted as the sweep-up crew and tried to act as peacemakers, which was enough for NASCAR to make their verdict and deliver the penalties.

“When you’re going to wait 198 laps and you make those decisions that were made, we’re going to react to that. There could have been different decisions made. When crew members get involved and family members get involved, we’re going to react. That’s exactly what we did.” Elton Sawyer said via SiriusXM NASCAR on X.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr is not appealing against the hefty fines, but the JTG team has yet to decide whether to appeal against the suspensions of the crew members.