Penalties were handed down yesterday, and it looks like NASCAR didn’t hold back on Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Co. after the post-race scrap at North Wilkesboro. Stenhouse Jr got slapped with a hefty $75,000 fine [the highest ever handed down to a driver for a fight] for punching Busch in the face, sparking the brawl in violation of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct—Section 4.4.D of the NASCAR Rule Book. The other fighters involved, including Ricky Stenhouse Sr, faced even stiffer consequences, receiving an indefinite suspension. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch walked away without any fines or penalties.

While Kyle Busch kept quiet right after the melee and let NASCAR do the talking, he recently broke his silence on Kenny Wallace’s show. Chatting with Charlie Marlow, Busch gave his side of the story, detailing the fight from his point of view.

Kyle Busch thought he was just going to have a casual chat, but??

Kyle Busch is no stranger to racetrack altercations, having tussled with drivers like Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick in the past. Typically, he might sense when tensions could escalate into a brawl on pit road. However, his latest encounter with Stenhouse Jr might have taken him back to 2003, when Jimmy Spencer unexpectedly punched him. Speaking to Charlie Marlow, Kyle explained that he was totally in the dark this time, and hadn’t heard anything about what Ricky Stenhouse Jr had said or hinted at in his earlier interviews, so he really didn’t know what he was walking into.

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

Kyle Busch shared his side of the story, noting that he didn’t expect Ricky Stenhouse Jr to make such an aggressive move so early in the race—after all, it was only lap one; the water and the tires weren’t even hot yet, and Stenhouse was already slipping a bit. Despite this, Stenhouse Jr went wide and then darted into the middle while Busch tried to give him enough room on the exit to avoid contact. That’s when Kyle even grazed the fence a bit. But despite that effort, the #47 still clipped Busch’s left front corner.

Busch explained, “So it was inevitable that I was going to get put in the fence anyways. So, I wasn’t too pleased about that and uh did come back and retaliated shows showed my displeasure of that uh as one guy once said I meant to Rattle his cage and spin him out didn’t mean for him to overcorrect and stuff it in the fence.“ Despite the tumult, it seems things have settled down for Busch and his team since the penalties were announced.

However, it’ll be interesting to see how things unfold at Charlotte, especially since Stenhouse had previously hinted at wrecking Busch there but later backed off. Not to mention, this time around, unlike before, Busch won’t be caught off guard. He’ll be coming prepared, with the full support of his boss, Richard Childress.

Richard Childress isn’t holding back—if Stenhouse Jr hits the #8 at Charlotte, he’s ready to step in

After the dust settled from the initial fracas, it seemed Ricky Stenhouse Jr still had more to say. He threw out another warning to the Busch team, claiming, “I’m going to wreck you at Charlotte.“ Despite being known as a “man of his word” among drivers like Denny Hamlin, Stenhouse Jr tried to dial back a bit. On a recent episode of Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie, Stenhouse Jr mentioned that while he had said he would crash Busch at Charlotte, he didn’t actually plan to follow through.

If Ricky Stenhouse Jr stays true to his word this time, that’s one thing. But if he decides to retaliate again, especially after already facing hefty penalties, he’ll find Kyle Busch and his team ready and waiting. And he might even have to contend with Busch’s boss, Richard Childress.

Reflecting on the post-race brawl, Childress said, “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**.”

Moreover, considering the penalties already handed down—Stenhouse’s dad got suspended indefinitely, and two members of his JTG Daugherty Racing team faced suspensions—any further deliberate antics could prompt NASCAR to crack down even harder on the #47 team next time around.