Denny Hamlin says Ricky Stenhouse Jr. texted other drivers during the race that he was going to fight Kyle Busch

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., stuck in the infield of North Wilkesboro Speedway with nowhere to go, had the time equivalent to 198 laps to decide how he was gonna handle seeing Kyle Busch after Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race.

Busch put him into the wall just two laps into the 200-lap exhibition, ending Stenhouse’s chances at winning the $1 million prize. Not only did Stenhouse threaten to fight Busch while speaking with the media immediately after the wreck, but he was apparently letting fellow drivers know of his intentions.

Speaking on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Denny Hamlin, who finished P2 at North Wilkesboro, said that Stenhouse was texting other drivers in their group chat during the race that he was gonna make a run at Busch.

“I didn’t realize that when I went back and looked — we have a group text and it’s me and Austin, it’s got JP and Jared, my buddy Greg and it’s got Ricky [Stenhouse] and Kyle Larson on it. He was letting us know while the race was going on [that] he’s gonna go after him [Busch]. So, of course I’m in the race so I don’t see it,” Hamlin said. “But there’s others that are not in the race. So, he’s stuck in the infield on his phone and he’s fuming.”

Stenhouse stayed true to his word, waiting for Busch outside his hauler. Once Busch arrived with a herd of media around him, it was on. The two exchanged words before Stenhouse threw a right hand at Busch, setting off a massive brawl between the two and their respective pit crews.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. verbally runs down Kyle Busch after All-Star Race

As the situation was being diffused and Stenhouse dragged away from the scene, he yelled, “I’ll wreck you at Charlotte,” to Busch. Busch responded to the comment, “Bring it. I don’t give a f***. I suck just as bad as you. Let’s go.”

Stenhouse told Jamie Little of FOX Sports after the race that he has grown tired of how Busch “runs his mouth all the time about myself.”

“I feel like Kyle, and I have always raced each other really hard back to the Nationwide Series when we were competing for wins week in and week out,” Stenhouse said. “Never had any issues. Then you know, I wrecked him one time at Daytona, and he’s been kinda bad mouthing me ever since then. I feel like we get along with each other okay outside the racetrack, I talk to him quite a bit.

“I’m not sure why he was so mad. 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 him, he kept saying that I wrecked him. So, 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 as well as he used to. I understand that. We’re a single-car team over here, we’re working really hard to go out and get better each and every weekend.”