![Kyle Busch]()
This one may not be over...but Kyle Busch seems so frustrated by his on-track performance lately, he doesn't even care.
In case you somehow missed the fists (or all the memes) flying, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made good on his promise that he'd be waiting for Kyle Busch last night after the NASCAR All-Star race, when Busch sent him into the wall and ended his day after only two laps.
https://twitter.com/NASCARONFOX/status/1792354521097642289
Stenhouse clearly didn't appreciate the contact, especially after replay showed that Stenhouse never touched Busch during their first run-in, and as he drove his wrecked car back to the garage he decided to park it right in Kyle Busch's pit stall.
https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1792354618829087157
He then climbed up on Busch's pit box to have a conversation with crew chief Randall Burnett and Richard Childress Racing VP Andy Petree, who could not have been more uninterested in what Stenhouse had to say.
https://twitter.com/NASCARONFOX/status/1792354686147969164
And in an interview after the incident, Stenhouse hinted that things weren't over between the two:
"I parked my car in his pit box, I figured he would do something like that.
Maybe Richard will hold my watch after the race."
For anybody who didn't get the reference, the "hold my watch" line was referring to Richard Childress once taking off his watch to punch Kyle Busch back in 2011.
https://twitter.com/RCorySmith/status/1569696267046985728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1569696267046985728%7Ctwgr%5E989a0c5be22fdf2e08b5b374b099b1c98198eded%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2Flists%2Fnascar-kyle-busch-richard-childress-punch-fight-hold-my-watch
And with Stenhouse being stuck in the infield until after the race, with no way out of the garage area while cars are on the track, Stenhouse said he would "handle it" with Busch once the race was over:
https://twitter.com/MattWeaverRA/status/1792356363835969745
Well that's exactly what Stenhosue did.
Stenhouse was waiting by Busch's hauler after the race. And after a heated conversation, Stenhouse decided that the time for talking was over and took a swing at Busch, landing a right hook on his jaw as Busch's pit crew jumped in to try to protect their driver.
https://twitter.com/NASCARONFOX/status/1792374824448253982
Stenhouse's father then got in on the action, landing a punch on Busch who then took some swings at the elder Stenhouse, before pit crews were able to separate the two.
https://twitter.com/Jordan_Bianchi/status/1792375477857915211
But even after the fists stopped flying, Stenhouse and Busch were still jawing at each other, with Stenhouse indicating to Kyle that he might not be done with the retaliation just yet:
"I'll wreck you at Charlotte."
Kyle though, who has been struggling during the first part of the 2024 Cup Series season so far, clearly isn't worried:
"Bring it, I don't give a f*ck. I suck just as bad as you."
https://twitter.com/NASCARONFOX/status/1792375620380377586
Kyle is clearly frustrated with how his season's going so far, with his #8 Chevy currently sitting 13th in the points with only two top 5 finishes so far through 13 races. (Although it's not really fair to say he sucks just as bad as Stenhouse, who's 26th in points with only one top 5 this season).
The entire Richard Childress Racing organization has struggled this year, with Kyle's teammate Austin Dillon in 31st in the points, so it seems like Kyle may be overperforming his equipment and starting to feel the frustration of not contending for wins like he's used to.
But it seems like Stenhouse isn't going to make things any easier for him to turn it around.
