Ricky Stenhouse Jr. HAMMERED For North Wilkesboro Fight
What’s Happening? On Wednesday morning, NASCAR announced severe penalties for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his team following the brawl at…
On Wednesday, NASCAR dropped the hammer on Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his race team for the post-race brawl at North Wilkesboro. However, many fans and even some drivers, both current and former, were unhappy with the penalties. Today, we look at other fights in recent years to see how they truly compare to the Stenhouse Jr. fight, and see if NASCAR is being as consistent as they claim.
What’s Happening? On Wednesday morning, NASCAR announced severe penalties for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his team following the brawl at…
Penalty: None
Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman fought hard on the track late in the 2019 All-Star Race, prompting the two to make contact on the cool-down lap. The last piece of contact between the two sent Bowyer into the wall after the race was over. Bowyer ran over to Newman’s car after the race and started punching into the window before crew members stepped in.
NASCAR gave no penalties for this altercation despite Bowyer actively lunging at Ryan Newman. Crew members were involved, but they were primarily there to split the two drivers up and keep everything from escalating even further. Typically, NASCAR takes a hands-off approach to fighting, especially if there’s no further escalation after the fact, and this is the prototypical example. A similar incident happened in 2023 at Pocono between Ryan Preece and Corey LaJoie, with the penalties being the exact same.
Penalty: None for Drivers; Joey Logano crew member suspended for 1 race
Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano made contact late in the Playoff race at Martinsville in 2019, with Logano sustaining significant damage. Logano went to confront Hamlin after the race, and, after Logano slapped Hamlin on the shoulder, Hamlin tried to lunge back at Logano. One crew member from the No. 22 team can be seen pulling Hamlin to the ground.
Just like the Newman vs. Bowyer fight earlier that season, NASCAR declined to penalize the drivers. However, they did penalize the crew member who tackled Hamlin, which set a precedent. Crew members who got involved by doing anything other than trying to break up the fight would be penalized.
Penalty: None
After contact on the race track, Noah Gragson approached Ross Chastain to confront him. After that, Gragson can be seen grabbing Chastain before Chastain punches Gragson in the face. No other crew members were involved.
Similar to the Bowyer/Newman fight, this was in the heat of the moment after the race. While there was physical contact, NASCAR let the drivers solve it that way, and nothing else escalated further than that. No crew members got involved, so no penalties were given to crew members.
Penalty: Matt Crafton Fined $25,000; Nick Sanchez Fined $5,000; Nick Sanchez’s dad suspended for 2 races
During NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega in 2023, Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez made contact, setting off the “Big One” and ending Crafton’s day. Crafton waited until after the race to confront Sanchez, and the two came to blows, with a bloodied Sanchez threatening Crafton, saying, “I’m going to F—— kill you!” Sanchez later alleged after the fight that Crafton tapped him on the shoulder and sucker punched Sanchez.
For multiple reasons, this fight received the largest penalty of any on this list. One, Crafton’s move to confront and potentially fight Sanchez was pre-meditated after spending time stewing on the incident. Secondly, there were verbal threats to inflict harm, particularly from Sanchez. Third, we had a family member, Nick Sanchez’s dad, get involved, which elicited a 2-race suspension from NASCAR. All fights before this were heat-of-the-moment arguments after the race, but this fight was very much pre-meditated.
What’s Happening? Kyle Busch marched back to the garage area after the All-Star Race, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. waiting. After…
Penalty: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fined $75,000; 2 crew members suspended (4 and 8 races, respectively); Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s father suspended indefinitely.
Now, looking back at the Stenhouse Jr./Kyle Busch incident, we have multiple things to consider. While addressing the media, Stenhouse Jr. made verbal threats that he would confront Busch after the race. Stenhouse Jr. waited and stood by Busch’s hauler, intending to do something. Multiple crew members and Stenhouse Jr.’s dad got involved and ambushed Busch, necessitating that suspension.
Like the Sanchez vs Crafton fight, this was an act Stenhouse Jr. thought about and stewed on. Not to mention that Busch didn’t actively threaten Stenhouse Jr. in any way. With it being so similar to NASCAR’s penalty of Matt Crafton, one could argue there’s precedent for this kind of penalty. The fines will also be bigger since it’s the Cup Series, and those drivers and teams make more money.
No matter where you stand on this argument, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. still ended up with a $75,000 fine, and NASCAR has data to back up their penalty. Even if NASCAR’s social channels spent the better part of Monday and Tuesday breaking it down from every angle possible.
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The NASCAR Truck Series breaks off from the main touring series schedule this weekend, but that doesn’t mean the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series aren’t racing. So, whether you are going to be at the track or home, what does the forecast look like for the race weekend in Austin, Texas?
Before the OAP Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the OAP Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the OAP Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Before the Cup Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the Cup Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the Cup Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
When the three NASCAR National Series rolled into Austin for COTA’s first NASCAR race weekend in 2021, no one could have guessed the chaos that lay in wait. A major rain shower did not prevent the series from racing that day, as, though it was still somewhat foreign at the time, NASCAR sent the Cup Series out in the rain for a chaotic race, ultimately won by Chase Elliott.
Note: This article will be updated with a more accurate and detailed forecast as the race weekend nears.
After back-to-back drafting tracks, NASCAR’s three National Series split ways as the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series head for Circuit of the Americas, and the Truck Series makes its debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
This information will be available when NASCAR releases it on Monday afternoon.
Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.
Just like that, the first two weeks of the NASCAR season are in the books. After kicking the season off at Daytona, the sport headed up north to EchoPark Speedway for back-to-back superspeedway action. The Cup series saw a familiar face in victory lane, as Tyler Reddick went 2-for-2 to start the year.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Sheldon Creed finally got the monkey off his back, thanks to help from Ross Chastain, and won his first career O’Reilly Auto Parts race. In Trucks, Kyle Busch continued his EchoPark dominance, taking home the checkered flag in familiar Hendrick colors, well, familiar two decades ago.
Now, how was the racing as a whole? Where do the races stack up against each other? Let’s take a look at my Race Weekend Rankings and see where the EchoPark weekend ranks among the rest of the 2026 season!
Check out the latest episode of The Cutline, where Armany broke down the weekend at Atlanta, alongside NASCAR_Opinion.
You can follow along with Armany by creating your own Race Weekend Rankings Tier List. Make sure to tag Armany and The Daily Downforce on X, and we’ll share your list with the rest of the NASCAR Community.
