2-Headed Monster: Did NASCAR Make the Right Call Following All-Star Fisticuffs?

What may have been a largely forgettable All-Star Race quickly became one for the ages afterward, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. exacted revenge on Kyle Busch following the lap 2 incident that saw the No. 47 nose into the frontstretch wall. With a warning sounded to anyone in ear shot, Stenhouse Jr. AND Sr. both got in on the action, as Busch was being restrained.

The JTG Daugherty Racing driver was fined $75,000 while mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended eight weeks and engine tuner Keith Matthews four weeks.

Did NASCAR make the right call with its disciplinary actions in an exhibition points race at one of the oldest short tracks on the NASCAR calendar? Fittingly, two of the oldest at Frontstretch duke it out — civilly — in this week’s 2-Headed Monster.

Saving the Inmates at the Asylum From Themselves

While Joey Logano was leading wire to wire at the All-Star Race Saturday night, Stenhouse was stewing. Like a Marvel villain arc that originated in the not-fictional town of Olive Branch (oh the irony!), Miss., Stenhouse pined, plotted and laid in wait to exact revenge on his bitter rival Kyle Busch.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that dramatic … but a right hook to the head has Stenhouse coughing up $75,000, and his old man can’t watch him race or avoid a rough ass beatin’ from Richard Childress. Was it the right call for NASCAR to come down so hard on the No. 47 team?

I know everyone likes scrappin’ and fightin’ in the pits at a short track – but yes it needed to be done.

A number of factors here aren’t playing in Stenhouse’s favor. It wasn’t as if it was a verbal escalation that became shoving and someone threw a punch. He went on TV – and in the media center – and intimated what he was going to do almost two hours later. A man of his word, he followed through on it, as did his dad and a couple of mechanics on the team. While it did make every sports show and the national news on Monday and is being exploited as free publicity by NASCAR, they do have to address these things head-on (no pun intended).

First of all, there’s the NASCAR Cup Series pecking order. You can’t have this become a regular thing in the Craftsman Truck Series that has plenty of wrecking and hot tempers as it is. Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton’s war of words and fists last year didn’t go over so well and was addressed by the sanctioning body in a swift manner. There was also some collateral damage in this most recent scrum, with Fronstretch alum Davey Segal taking a tumble as Bob Pockrass narrowly escaped a similar fate – but not without a memeable screen capture.

Second, it’s this kind of clown show theatrics that will invariably be used to justify a desire – for whatever reason – to host an event at Bowman-Gray Stadium. You know, that hallowed ground that sees cars cutting across the facility to wreck someone, with red and blue strobes in the background?

Hours earlier everyone was marveling at Kyle Larson as he flew from Indianapolis after qualifying for the 500, being heralded as one of the greatest racecar drivers in the world — mentioned in the same breath as Formula 1 champions — and then we get guys in cargo shorts taking swings, people tripping over stacks of tires, and security ropes positioned in a way that resembled a WWE ring.

Some deemed it a “FAFO” moment; I saw it as a “this is why we can’t have nice things” moment.

Checking the reaction today, many are slamming NASCAR for being hypocritical.

That is inaccurate on its face. To be hypocritical would be to not fine them, but let it slide and promote it, then fining the next driver who takes a swing at someone and connects. It’s their series and event, they can do whatever they see fit with whatever content is generated during it.

At one point I might have been on the “you better not use it as promotional material” bandwagon.

But these days, please use anything and everything you can to get people to come to the track, or tune in on television.

— Freddie Kraft (@FreddieKraft) May 22, 2024

What I do think is a bit disingenuous, was there was no penalty levied against the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team or Busch. Let’s not forget the catalyst for the whole melee – Busch wrecking Stenhouse after he felt he shoved him up into the wall. Numerous replays showed no contact – if anything another half a lane between the two principal combatants.

Richard Childress reaffirmed his fighting days were not yet over if Stenhouse threatened to wreck his car again. Considering who made RCR the winning organization it became and the manner in which he did it is also a bit rich. Maybe NASCAR didn’t think it warranted a fine; it appeared that Stenhouse over-corrected into the wall, or it thought he has suffered enough after hearing Kyle Busch yell, “I suck just as bad as you!” in the aftermath.

Ultimately, fighting is a bad look for the sport. Sure, it makes hyping the next race easy but sponsors don’t like it, and neither do some of us who don’t need to be waterboarded with parallels between this and Daytona 1979 every year leading up to the All-Star Race going forward. We’ve had a lot of great racing the last couple of weeks that’s going to be memory holed by a chaotic scene and what would be premeditated assault and battery in virtually any other setting. As is with many things on the competition side, the sanctioning body needs to save the drivers from themselves sometimes. – Vito Pugliese

The Instigator Walks Free

A lot of things could have gone differently both during and after Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Kyle Busch could have been a little more patient less than 15 laps into the 200-lap event. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. could have left it on the track, or given Busch time to see the video that showed their initial contact was not Stenhouse’s fault.

Unfortunately, none of that happened. Instead, Busch made an aggressive move to Stenhouse’s inside which resulted in Busch getting out of shape and connecting with Stenhouse before bouncing off the wall. His response was to run Stenhouse down and put the No. 47 hard into the wall, ending that team’s night.

In general, when a driver is out of the race early, he’s not going to stick around for a discussion. But North Wilkesboro has one way in and one way out: a crossover gate on the backstretch that was closed for the race. Stenhouse couldn’t leave and had plenty of time to stew. He no doubt saw the replays that showed the initial incident wasn’t his fault.

So, he decided that the discussion wasn’t going to wait and confronted Busch as the two-time champion was walking back to his team’s hauler. The pair shared words, Stenhouse took a swing, Busch made a move to parry and lost his balance. The pair were separated, but Stenhouse’s father and a couple of crewmen followed Busch and his crew onto the liftgate of their hauler.

There was a whole lot of wrong in the situation. But the way it was handled by the sanctioning body was also wrong.

Stenhouse was fined and his father and two crewmen received suspensions. Stenhouse Sr. was suspended indefinitely and the crewmen for eight and four races, respectively.

None of that is inherently wrong. There is precedent for both family members being suspended for getting involved in altercations and for crewmen to receive the same. Drivers have generally been treated more leniently in recent years, but Stenhouse did ambush Busch long after the incident, and Matt Crafton was fined last year for a similar move on Nick Sanchez at Homestead.

Did Stenhouse cross a line? Maybe (NASCAR’s more than 20 social media posts highlighting but not disparaging the incident suggest they were happy to use it to their advantage). His father and crewmen absolutely did and while the length of the suspensions was way over the top for the crewmen in particular, penalties were deserved.

If it’s so wrong then why is it all over NASCAR social channels? We should be allowed to show our emotions, I don’t get it… https://t.co/LKr8t4h27h

— Daniel Suárez (@Daniel_SuarezG) May 22, 2024

But what about Busch? If the Crafton-Sanchez incident was enough precedent to fine Stenhouse, where was Busch’s suspension?

Remember last year’s Coca-Cola 600, where Chase Elliott intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin after a minor incident and sat out the next week? Or how about 2022 when Bubba Wallace was suspended for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson after an incident?

Busch’s move on Stenhouse was just as blatantly obvious. It destroyed a car that the No. 47 team, with whom Busch had no beef, had built, and it put Stenhouse in danger.

Stenhouse vowed to wreck Busch in the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend. If he does, he will absolutely be suspended and rightfully so. So why did Busch get a free pass?

What’s that, you say? The All-Star event doesn’t pay points and punishment should not carry over to points-paying events?

That has never mattered to NASCAR. Ask Carl Long; a fine for an engine penalty in the Open (which didn’t help his team transfer into the main event) for all intents and purposes ended his team.

NASCAR’s rules are only as good as the consistency with which they’re applied. The sanctioning body warned drivers over a year ago that intentionally wrecking another car would result in a suspension. And it did. For an entire two times. So is it back to “boys, have at it” and an on-track free-for-all? Or will the next driver to do it find himself sitting at home on a Sunday?

Intentionally wrecking other drivers is a conduct issue, but it’s ultimately a safety issue. Drivers can be hurt in short-track crashes as well as at larger tracks.

Inconsistency in applying the rules ultimately make it look like some drivers or organizations are being given favors while others are used as examples. That’s not a good look for an organization and becomes a credibility issue.

Ultimately, penalties to Stenhouse’s father and crewmen were deserved, though what was levied was excessive. Stenhouse’s being penalized was in line with the most recent similar situation. even if it was compounded by his inability to leave the track. Making it the biggest fine ever dropped for fighting was not necessary.

It’s a bit of a strange flex to use the incident for exposure and then punish the driver for it, but ultimately holding them accountable was fair, though the punishment was a bit like treating a kid who stole a candy bar like a bank robber.

The big mistake in this is that Busch will be in the field on Sunday. And in this case, that’s more wrong than the part NASCAR got right. – Amy Henderson