Aftermath of Penalties Issued at North Wilkesboro a Week Later

As most NASCAR fans know, an entertaining fight rocked the sport last week. On May 19th, at the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch got into a heated altercation with JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Their cars made contact with one another during the second lap of the race, as well as a few other times, and this resulted in some words being exchanged between the two, which then resulted in Stenhosue throwing a punch at Busch, which led to an all-out brawl of both racing teams, as well as Stenhouse’s father. Though the whole situation can be found entertaining, penalties were issued, as Stenhouse was and one could say rightfully so fined $75,000. 

As of Sunday, Stenhouse and his team are unsure if they will appeal the fine. What exactly started the brawl is unclear past the fact that words were exchanged between the two after their cars made contact. Other punishments were issued as well, as NASCAR indefinitely suspended Stenhouse and two other members of his team; Keith Matthews, who works on engines, is suspended for four races, and Clint Myrick, a mechanic, is suspended for eight races. Stenhouse and his team have until 5 PM on Tuesday to decide if they will appeal any of these penalties. However, neither party seems to be focused on the fight anymore. 

When asked about the fight on Saturday, Stenhouse stated, “I think we spent all week really focused on just racing here at Charlotte and what we needed to do to run well here. We’ve got until next week to kind of figure that out, but our main focus was just getting back on track and making sure we have a strong run Sunday.” When he was questioned on the matter on Saturday, Busch seemed to have fully moved on as well, stating, “I don’t need a fight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr, I need a fight with the top three guys so I can start winning some races.” When asked his thoughts on the penalties, he seemed unbothered. “NASCAR levels penalties,” he said. “That’s not my problem.” Overall, it seems like both teams are just trying to leave it in the past. Both seemed focused on their upcoming races more than anything, and it seems right that that’s the way it is.