It wasn't enough that Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. traded paint in Sunday's NASCAR All-Star race at historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. They also traded fists.
But it began on the track. As detailed by Mark Schofield of SB Nation:
"It all started on just the second lap of the race, when Stenhouse got to the inside of Busch. With Michael McDowell on the inside of Stenhouse, the cars were three wide on the tight, short North Wilkesboro Speedway, and Busch ended up squeezed into the wall for a second.
"As the broadcast team on FOX Sports noted that Busch was 'not going to be happy about that,' it did not take long for the NASCAR driver to strike back."
incredible level of petty here from Stenhouse - wreck me out, I'll leave my wreck in your pit box to talk to your crew chief pic.twitter.com/pGJmNw9wE3
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 20, 2024
Again, that was just the start, that led to a violent finish.
"Stenhouse was waiting for Busch to explain his side of things, saying 'I didn't touch you' to Busch," Schofield wrote. "After imploring Busch to 'go back and watch it,' Stenhouse threw a hard right at the driver, which may or may not have connected. Things escalated even further when Ricky Stenhouse Sr. went after Busch."
Another angle of the confrontation after the race. pic.twitter.com/JCgSZhEzwa
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 20, 2024
Crew members quickly jumped in to keep things from getting out of hand, but not before the whole scene went viral. That's just the way or the world these days — with NASCAR drivers throwing in a little WWE-style action at least once a season. This was the first this year. There may be more to come.
NASCAR returns to action with the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte this weekend.
