![Richard Childress]()
Richard Childress going to take matters into his own hands?
Of course the big story out of last week's NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro was the post-race altercation between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch following their incident on lap 2 of the race.
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 after the 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 - the same Kyle Busch who now drives for Childress.
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 even 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."
Well Kyle may not care if Ricky tries to dump him during the Coca-Cola 600 next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But Kyle's team owner does.
Childress was asked about the threat from Stenhouse Jr., and the 78-year old responded with a threat of his own:
"I don't fight as fair as I used to. I'm a little older. But Ricky Stenhouse said that he was going to wreck the #8 car at Charlotte.
Well when I see him I'm gonna tell him, if he does, I'm older but I've just changed my style of fighting. He'll carry a rough ass-beating."
https://twitter.com/chris8video/status/1793065806932422786
Now, obviously Childress has shown in the past that he has no problem punching drivers in the face. (Of course the driver he punched later ended up driving for him).
But Stenhouse is in pretty good shape, so Childress might not want to take him on in a one-on-one.
Of course this could all just mean that Stenhouse is going to end up driving for Richard Childress Racing in 2036, just like the last driver that the team owner punched.
