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Joey Logano had just won the race but interest was instead on what was about to unfold in the paddock, where Stenhouse Jnr had been waiting for Busch.
The fight was sparked by an incident which unfolded over the opening two laps of the race, when Stenhouse appeared to squeeze Busch into the wall and he responded by completely unloading the #47 Chevrolet, which sustained significant front-end damage.
With no tunnel at North Wilkesboro, Stenhouse Jnr could not leave the infield until the end of the race even if he wanted to, so he chose instead to wait near the Richard Childress Racing transporters.
“I just told Randall [Burnett, Busch’s Crew Chief] that he could tell Kyle I’ll see him afterwards, over the radio, since there’s no tunnel here – I can’t leave – so I’ll be here when the race is over,” he told reporters.
Asked what he would need to hear from Busch to improve the situation, Stenhouse Jnr responded ominously, “Nothing, nothing, nothing; I’ll handle it.”
Handle it he did.
The JTG Daugherty Racing driver was spotted casually leaning on an RCR transporter, wearing a t-shirt and board shorts, as Busch marched over in his racesuit.
They stood face to face and engaged in conversation, barely audible due to literal fireworks, but could be heard saying the following:
Stenhouse Jnr: “Go back and watch the replay, I didn’t touch you. Not once.”
Busch: “We all hit each other.”
Stenhouse Jnr: “You hit the fence and then you hit me.”
Busch: “I don’t believe it, but if that’s what happened, okay.”
Stenhouse Jnr: “Go back and watch it.”
Stenhouse Jnr then threw something of a right-hook which connected with Busch’s head.
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Both then tried to swing at each other as NASCAR security stepped in and grabbed Stenhouse Jnr.
However, Stenhouse Snr then grabbed Busch and started throwing punches himself, with the RCR driver responding in kind, as Stenhouse Jnr yelled out, “Dad” and “Get my dad.”
JTGD crew members appeared to try and separate both but RCR crew members then sparked another altercation with them on an RCR transporter’s tailgate.
After the fight dissipates, Busch is heard shouting at Stenhouse Jnr from his tailgate, “I don’t give a f***. I suck just as bad as you. Let’s go!”
He then hopped under the rope on his tailgate, much like one might enter/exit a real boxing ring, only to walk up to the other end of the RCR transporters.
This is the angle.
My Lord.– Stenhouse’s old man DEFINITELY wanted to smash Kyle Busch’s face.
– I can’t get over Busch’s big hoss pit crew guy just eliminating everyone he sees, literally throwing them through the air.
— Colin Dunlap (@colin_dunlap) May 20, 2024
Stenhouse Jnr was interviewed on the Fox Sports broadcast afterwards, saying, “I wrecked him one time at Daytona and he’s been kind of badmouthing me ever since then.
“I feel like we get along with each other okay outside the race track – I talk with him quite a bit – [but] I’m not sure why he was so mad that…
“I shoved it three-wide but, I mean, he hit the fence and kind of came off the wall and ran into me.
“I don’t know, when I was talking to him, he kept saying I wrecked him.
“Just definitely built-up frustration with how he runs his mouth all the time, about myself, but I know he’s frustrated because he doesn’t run near as good as he used to and I understand that.
“You know, we’re a single-car team over here, we’re working really hard, to go out and get better each and every weekend.”
He added, “Being stuck in here definitely doesn’t help the frustration – if there was a tunnel, I’d have probably been home watching the end of that, but here we are.”
Stenhouse Jnr then said he would be interested in a charity bout with Busch.
“If we want to have a charity match, I could do that to raise some money, for maybe the NASCAR Foundation or something like that – that would be fun – but, other than that, I don’t have a whole lot for him,” he said.
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Busch had taken questions from reporters as he walked towards his transporter, where Stenhouse was waiting.
His recount of the incidents was: “I mean, it’s the first lap of the race – we don’t even have water temp in the car yet – and we’re wrecking each other off of 2.”
Asked if he thought he needed to retaliate, Busch responded, “I’m tired of getting run over, by everybody, but that’s what everybody does. Everybody runs over everybody to pass everybody.”
NASCAR is reviewing the incident and will announce any penalties next week.
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