Speeding cars escalated into swinging punches at Sunday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race in North Carolina, where drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch got into a fight that later involved their crews.
Tempers apparently flared after Busch bumped Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, causing the car to slam into a perimeter wall, according to NASCAR. The crash knocked Stenhouse out of the race after just two laps (out of 200) at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Stenhouse then parked in Busch’s pit box and climbed over the wall and up to the crew to apparently get a word in. As North Wilkesboro has no exit tunnel, he had to wait for the race to finish for his chance to confront Busch.
During post-competition fireworks, the two drivers were being recorded speaking in the garage when Stenhouse threw a right hook at Busch’s face.
Video of the confrontation posted by NASCAR showed Stenhouse was visibly agitated as he was speaking with Busch.
Busch said, “We all hit each other,” to which Stenhouse replied, “You hit the fence and then you hit me.” Busch responded, “I don’t believe you.”
“Go back and watch it,” Stenhouse said before swinging.
A second later, other people surrounding the two stars jumped in to intervene and pull them apart, landing both on the ground.
Crew members got involved in the scuffle, too, throwing punches at one another. In a video NASCAR shared on X, Busch swings at a man who separated him from Stenhouse.
In a post-fight interview with Fox Sports, Stenhouse said: “You know, I feel like Kyle and I have always raced each other really hard. … Then, I wrecked him once at Daytona, and he’s kind of been bad-mouthing me ever since then.
“I feel like we get along with each other OK outside the racetrack. I talk to him quite a bit. I’m not sure why he was so mad that I shoved it three wide. But 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 that I wrecked him,” he said. “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,” Stenhouse added.
He said being stuck on the racetrack “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 said.
There were no serious injuries in the confrontation, and if there are any penalties, they’ll be assessed by Wednesday in line with normal procedures and timelines, NASCAR said.
Busch finished 10th in his No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and Stenhouse came in last.
Joey Logano in his No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse ended up winning the race and its $1 million prize.
Neither driver nor NASCAR immediately responded to requests for comment.
Marlene Lenthang
Breaking News Reporter
