Kyle Busch opens up on Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fight following NASCAR announcement of penalties, fines

Kyle Busch said Wednesday he felt he “went into an ambush blind” leading up to the fight between he and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. following the conclusion to this past Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“You know to me, it’s just Lap 1. The water is not even hot. The tires aren’t even hot,” Busch told Charlie Marlow of The Kenny Wallace Show. “You’re kind of slipping a little bit but yeah, I ran wide into Turn 1. Gave an opening to the middle. He took it. I gave room on the exit to make sure we didn’t touch, so I touched the fence a little bit. I was touching the fence, and he still ran into me and brushed off on my left front corner.

“So, it was inevitable that I was going to get put in the fence anyways. I wasn’t too pleased about that and did come back and retaliate. It showed my displeasure of that. As one guy once said, I meant to rattle his cage and spin them out didn’t mean for him to overcorrect and stuff in the fence but that’s sort of what happens sometimes.

“And then afterwards obviously, trying to have some casual words. I had no idea his comments of hold my watch or you know, hey, if you want to see something afterwards, hang out until afterwards. Nobody told me. So, I felt like I went into an ambush blind with him and his team and having an idea that they were all kind of set up in different areas. But tried to hold my own the best I could fighting off five different guys and came out of there with no black eyes. So, you know, I guess we’ll see how that progresses going forward and what we do, you know, heading on into the next few weeks.”

Kyle Busch receives zero punishment from NASCAR for role in fight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Busch, who dumped Stenhouse just two laps into the 200-lap exhibition, arrived at his hauler to the sight of Stenhouse waiting for him. The two initially had what appeared to be a normal conversation before Stenhouse threw a right hand at the two-time Cup Series champion, setting off a massive brawl between the two and their respective pit crews.

As the situation was being diffused and Stenhouse dragged to the ground by security, 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’s punch cost him some significant dough. NASCAR fined Stenhouse $75,000, the biggest fine NASCAR has ever issued specifically for a fight. In addition, JTG Daugherty Racing mechanic Clint Myrick received an eight-race suspension. Tuner Keith Matthews was levied a four-race suspension. NASCAR did not issue any fine or penalty to Busch.