NASCAR issued penalties Wednesday morning in the aftermath of the altercation after Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The sanctioning body fined Ricky Stenhouse Jr. $75,000 for punching Cup Series driver Kyle Busch and suspended two crew members from the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team.
It all began early in Sunday’s race when Busch got into Stenhouse on lap 3. Busch sent the Stenhouse car into the wall and to the garage and Stenhouse was scored last with a DNF and parked and parked and left his wrecked car in the No. 8 team’s pit stall to show his displeasure. In his interviews after he was checked and released from the infield care center he indicated trouble might be coming. “I’ll handle it,” Stenhouse said, elaborating on what that meant by later adding, “Eh, you can just watch afterward.”
Busch would go on to finish 10th in the race. After it was over Busch marched to his hauler to find Stenhouse waiting for him. After a few tense words Stenhouse threw a punch and a melee broke out that had both drivers and several JTG Daugherty crew members on the ground. Those also involved Richard Stenhouse Sr. Stenhouse Jr.’s dad.
In addition to the fine for Stenhouse Jr., Wednesday officials handed down multi-race suspensions to two crew members and also indefinitely suspended Ricky’s father — for violations of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.4.D in the NASCAR Rule Book).
Team mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for the next eight Cup Series races (through events at Pocono Raceway on July 14) for his role, and tuner Keith Matthews was suspended for the next four Cup Series events (through Iowa Speedway on June 16)
Also on the penalty report, competition officials issued two penalties after the Craftsman Truck Series’ most recent race at North Wilkesboro. Officials gave a one-race suspension to crew member Dawson Backus, rear tire changer for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team, for violating the rule book section on crew protective clothing/equipment, specifically helmet straps. Officials also fined crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz $2,500 after the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Grant Enfinger was found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check.
Finally, NASCAR officials also handed an indefinite suspension to Rowan Mason for a behavioral violation of Sections 4.1 and 10.1.A in the Rule Book (Substance Abuse Policy). Mason was last listed on NASCAR’s team roster portal as a mechanic for the No. 5 Our Motorsports team in the Xfinity Series.
Tuesday night, Busch’s team owner Richard Childress had a warning for Stenhouse should he try and retaliate against his driver.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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