An angry Ricky Stenhouse Jr. confronted Kyle Busch, then punched him following the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway, setting off a brief fight between teams in the garage.
Stenhouse made an aggressive move on the opening lap of the race and Busch ended up in the wall, which led to Busch intentionally crashing Stenhouse and eliminating him on Lap 2. But North Wilkesboro is an old-school track with no exit tunnel, so Stenhouse had nothing to do but wait for Busch until the race was over.
Sure enough, Stenhouse was standing by Busch’s hauler as the driver of the No. 8 car approached. After a short conversation, Stenhouse swung and set off a fight. Team members then got involved.
Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into an altercation following the NASCAR All-Star Race 😳
🎥 @Jordan_Bianchi pic.twitter.com/86EA503lCw
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 20, 2024
“You hit the fence yourself,” Stenhouse said, according to footage from The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi. “I didn’t touch you!”
When Busch disputed that, Stenhouse’s eyes widened and he added: “I did not touch you. Not once.”
“We all hit each other,” Busch said.
“No we — you hit the fence and then you hit me,” Stenhouse said.
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Busch then said that wasn’t true again, and Stenhouse swung his fist and appeared to hit Busch in the face.
After the initial contact, Stenhouse’s dad — Ricky Stenhouse Sr. — also went after Busch and swung at him.
“Dad! Dad!” Stenhouse Jr. said after being knocked to the ground, then asked a crew member: “Can you get my dad?”
Stenhouse Sr. and Busch angrily tussled and grabbed each other for a few moments before they were pulled apart.
“Bring it! I don’t give a f—,” Busch then yelled at Stenhouse Jr. “I suck just as bad as you! Let’s go!”
Busch was referring to his disappointing season so far and a 10th-place finish on Sunday night. Stenhouse is also having struggles this year after winning the Daytona 500 last season.
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(Photo: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)