The drama from lap 1 of the All-Star race is still burning hot. In a podcast with Corey LaJoie, Ricky Stenhouse Jr had already mentioned, “I told him I might crash him at Charlotte. I’m not gonna crash him at Charlotte,” likely cautious of the penalties that could come his way.

Now, it looks like Stenhouse Jr has another big reason to rethink his approach of messing up with someone like Kyle Busch—Richard Childress. Even at 78, the RCR owner hasn’t lost his fire. Recently, at an event at his winery in Lexington, he didn’t mince words when he threw down a serious warning to the JTG Daugherty Racing driver, backing his rival from the 2011 showdown.

When it comes to a top driver like Kyle Busch, Richard Childress doesn’t stand for any nonsense

The drama started on the first spin of the track when Ricky Stenhouse Jr touched Kyle Busch’s car, and it all blew up into a full-scale fistfight after the race. Stenhouse Jr had already been knocked out early in the race [on Lap 2] and hinted during post-crash interviews that the tension might turn physical. During their confrontation, it seemed like Busch might have been willing to give the JTG Daughtery Racing driver the benefit of the doubt regarding the lap 1 bump, but before he could even finish his sentence, Ricky Stenhouse landed a solid punch on his jaw, sticking to his fiery declaration.

Now, along with the possibility of penalties looming, Ricky Stenhouse Jr has received a sharp warning from none other than renowned NASCAR Cup team owner, and Kyle Busch’s boss, Richard Childress. Reflecting on the post-race events, Childress remarked, “Well, you know, it was bad that he was ambushed by those guys. If it had just been a straight-up fight, but it was an ambush, well-coordinated. I’ve put the word out. I got it where I hope it gets to him (Stenhouse) that if he does… I’m kind of old for fighting, but I’ll have a different style of fighting and I’ll whip his a**,“ Childress said.

He also said, “I would have jumped right in the middle of it. Well, I was starting fighting. 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 going to tell him if he does. I’m older, but I’ve just changed my style of fighting. He’ll carry a rough past beat.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr has plenty of reasons to be worried right now. If a guy over sixty, like Richard Childress, can square up to someone as tough as Kyle Busch, he certainly wouldn’t hesitate to confront Stenhouse Jr if pushed to it. It’s one thing for any owner to stand up for their driver after a scrape, but it’s particularly loaded in this case, given the history between Childress and Busch.

Back in 2011, after a Truck Series race in Kansas, Busch, who was racing for Kyle Busch Motorsports, had a rough run-in on the track with Joey Coulter from Richard Childress Racing. Childress, who was 65 at the time, didn’t take kindly to it, confronted Busch, took off his watch, and didn’t just stop at words—he put Busch in a headlock and started throwing punches. NASCAR ended up fining Childress $150,000 and putting him on probation for the rest of the season.

Now, it looks like Childress has moved past that old clash from 14 years ago. But he can get into the same mode and not think twice before doing the same to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. On the other side of it, Ricky might not only be worried about potential NASCAR penalties but also be rattled by the stern warning from such a prominent team owner. It’s reminiscent of last year, when Ross Chastain received a warning from Rick Hendrick, after which his performance dropped quite a lot.

Currently, everyone’s just holding their breath, waiting for the penalty announcements, which might come as soon as Wednesday.

The teams might be on edge about potential penalties

NASCAR usually dishes out penalties on Tuesdays, but this week, they might hold off until Wednesday due to the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame class voting and announcement set for Tuesday. They probably don’t want to overshadow that big reveal, especially since some of the folks deciding on penalties also have a say in the Hall of Fame selections. Plus, delaying the announcement might just keep the teams on their toes a bit longer.

Last year, Matt Crafton got hit with a fine for decking Nick Sanchez, and now it looks like Ricky Stenhouse Jr might be next in line. Crafton’s dad also got a timeout for two races after he jumped into the mix. So, using that as a benchmark, Stenhouse Jr’s dad might find himself sidelined for a bit after his role in Sunday night’s dust-up with Busch. That could be the extent of the suspensions unless it turns out that any crew members got physical too.

The tricky part for NASCAR will be deciding what to do about Stenhouse Jr, who had plenty of time to cool down after Kyle Busch took him out early in the NASCAR All-Star Race, yet still went on to confront Busch by his hauler. NASCAR usually doesn’t slap fines on drivers right after they climb out of their cars—Ross Chastain and Austin Hill have both been in scrapes on pit road recently without facing penalties.

But if NASCAR decides to fine Ricky Stenhouse Jr, the penalty could be steeper than what Crafton faced, given that this all went down at a Cup Series event, not just a Truck race. He had enough time to chill but chose to escalate things, which suggests this wasn’t just heat-of-the-moment anger but something more deliberate.