NASCAR doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to policing incidents off the race track. Initially, in the heat of the moment, they are likely to brandish a big penalty on the parties involved and then revoke it after the dispute is settled. Something similar happened with Ricky Stenhouse Sr., who was involved in a post-race brawl that happened between his son Rick Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch at the NASCAR All-Star Race in the North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19.

For those who might have lost track of events: In the opening lap of the non-points race, Stenhouse made an aggressive move and Busch ended up in the wall. This led to Busch’s intentionally crashing Stenhouse and eliminating him on Lap 2 out of the 200 laps. A post-race brawl was imminent as Stenhouse told after being released from the infield care center, “I’ll handle it. Eh, you can just watch afterward.” He indeed showed it!

The JTG Daugherty #47 Racing driver was waiting for Busch’s arrival at the No. 8 hauler after the event. As RCR’s #8 arrived, after a brief conversation, Stenhouse threw his right hand and that landed on the right side of Busch’s face. Meanwhile, Stenhouse Sr. was trying to get a piece of Busch as both crews scuffled.

In the aftermath of this fight, NASCAR dropped the hammer on Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with a hefty $75,000 fine, the largest ever for fighting in NASCAR history. Alongside, team mechanic Clint Myrick, suspended for the next eight Cup Series races (through events at Pocono Raceway on July 14), and tuner Keith Matthews, for the next four Cup Series events (through Iowa Speedway on June 16), Stenhouse’s father was also suspended from entering the racetrack indefinitely. There was no mention of how long the suspension would last for Stenhouse Senior. However, an update shared by Bob Pockrass states that his suspension has been revoked.

“Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s dad, who was suspended from NASCAR following the Kyle Busch fight at the all-star race in May, has been reinstated (which means he can be in the garage/pits during race weekends),” Bob shared this on X.

The NASCAR fans understandably didn’t receive the news well, being left stunned by NASCAR’s decision. Back in May as well, the penalty had stunned many. To make matters even trickier, NASCAR had posted the video of the fight on their Facebook while writing “We’ll call this a … difference of opinion.”

Many saw this as promoting the fight despite NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer saying, “we’ve been consistent about this, when crew members and family members get involved, we are going to react. That’s exactly what we did.” One to call out NASCAR on this was Hendrick Motorsports #9 Chase Elliott.

First of all, Chase was not on the same page with NASCAR on the amount of the penalty. “That seems like a lot for that situation,” he said. Then lashing out at NASCAR he further added, “You are going to fine him, but you are going to promote with it? Like, what are we doing? That’s a little strange to me. … That’s a lot of money to fine a guy. It’s like, ‘It’s not OK, but we are going to blast it all over everything to get more clicks.” The winner of the All-Star race Joey Logano was more articulate in his comments.

“I think, really, what we all want is consistency and knowing what the rule is and what’s OK and what’s not OK,” All-Star Race winner Joey Logano said. “That’s really all you ask for. Whether it’s the car or restarts or altercations apparently, just let me know the rules, is what I want to know. What is the price I’m about to pay if I make this decision and is it worth it?” Joey said. However, NASCAR stated that the suspension of Stenhouse Sr. was for violations of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.4.D in the NASCAR Rule Book).

Notably, this once again brings out NASCAR’s lenience when it comes to drivers squaring off. Last year an incident similar to this All-Star one happened between Truck Series driver Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton at a race at Talladega Superspeedway, where none of the involved drivers was suspended,

Sanchez was responsible for wrecking Crafton during the race and was accused of driving aggressively. Crafton reportedly waited to confront Sanchez as he walked to his team’s hauler and the two exchanged words. Following that, Crafton threw a punch that broke Sanchez’s nose. And guess what? A daddy factor was there as well!

Sanchez’s dad, Rene, got himself involved in the brawl that resulted in NASCAR suspending him. Notably, on that occasion as well, the two drivers just received penalties, Crafton $25,000 and Sanchez $5,000. In light of the fresh incident, enraged fans dug up several past instances while slamming NASCAR for their alleged inconsistencies.

Fans have mixed reactions to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s dad being reinstated

We have seen a fair few incidents of drivers getting into fights; it’s nothing new. However, the involvement of a family member is indeed a concern. The quarrel was between the two drivers, and they could’ve settled it on their terms. Stenhouse’s father had no business trying to land punches at Kyle Busch. Unable to quantify NASCAR’s decision to allow Stenhouse Sr. back at the races, this fan wrote, “Might as well rename it THUGCAR now smh won’t be watching anymore.”

Although NASCAR doesn’t encourage fights, they were the ones who used it as promotional content for the next events. While it might have brought them clicks and views, a fan feared this treatment could prove detrimental to the sport’s overall brand image. “This is exactly why viewership is decreasing. He needs to be banned for life.”

A fan even brought up Cody Ware’s case, where he was barred from NASCAR racing after he was arrested for assault on his girlfriend. However, after the charges against him were dropped, he was allowed to race again. “Why does @NASCAR always do this ? They suspend someone and months down the road reinstate them even though they started it ? Same thing in the past with Cody Ware, Alvin Kamara etc.”

Meanwhile, a few others felt that this news wasn’t that big of a deal considering that NASCAR has let many drivers off the hook for more egregious incidents. A fan shared the example of Kyle Busch, who caused a huge ruckus during the 2011 Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway where Rowdy intentionally took out Ray Hornaday and was banned by NASCAR from running the Cup race that week, along with a $50,000 fine. “People acting like he should be banned for life. With that logic Busch should still be suspension for the Hornaday deal. 🤣🤣.”

Another fan also welcomed this move, provided that Stenhouse Sr. would carry himself in an orderly manner without causing more problems. “Welcome back! Keep your hands in your pocket.” On the other hand, some lost track of events and timeliness, thinking that he already got the clean chit from NASCAR. “bro what i thought he got reinstated back at like michigan or richmond.”

Does NASCAR need a strict policy in place to deal with these issues? And if yes, how should NASCAR go about it?