Ricky Stenhouse Jr did not anticipate a scuffle here in Bristol but hoped to get an early win just like he did back last year, acing NASCAR’s biggest spectacle—the Daytona 500—to get a free pass into the playoffs.

However, the JTG Daugherty Racing driver might not have even dreamt about such a fallout in his short-track venture at Bristol Motor Speedway. Driving his #47 Chevy a lap down, right in front of then-race leader Denny Hamlin, Stenhouse Jr was sent for a spin and was seen boiling red hot after a contact with Austin Cinrdric got the driver livid.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Austin Cindric go around at Bristol

Navigating through slower cars played a huge role, especially during the race’s final leg when drivers were diving into the pits for fresh tires, giving them a massive speed boost over those still circling on old rubber. There was a tense moment when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Cindric nearly tangled up right in front of Hamlin and Gibbs, turning the race for the lead into a tricky dance through dense lapped traffic.

When Stenhouse Jr tried to get around Cindric, things got hairy. Cindric’s #2 Ford was caught in a tight spot, going three-wide into the turn with Stenhouse Jr and Todd Gilliland. The move knocked them both back, scrubbing any chance they had of a top-20 finish. Already disappointed and frustrated, Stenhouse Jr got explicit on the radio, badmouthing Cindric. He was reported saying, “Austin Cindric, f***ing idiot; 2 car went three wide and wiped us out,” on the team radio.

And his frustration was justified considering the fact that led to a dismal end to Stenhouse Jr’s outing at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Stenhouse Jr. ended up in 33rd place. His track record isn’t usually this disappointing, and after last year’s strong finish, he likely had high hopes of making it into the top 10 again this year.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr has had some solid races at Bristol Motor Speedway before

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In his 10-year career and 20 race starts at Bristol, Ricky Stenhouse Jr has averaged a finish of 18.6, having four top-5s and seven top-10s. In fact, just last year, during the playoffs race, in September 2023, he managed to finish P10. That’s most likely why he was feeling pretty good about his chances this time around, hoping to land a similar or better finish. But it went in the other direction with potentially no fault of his.

Not to mention, the interesting part would have been if the race had gone sideways for JGR because of a mix-up involving Stenhouse Jr, Austin Cindric, and Todd Gilliland. Actually, they were lagging a lap behind the frontrunners like Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs. As Hamlin was closing in, he nudged Stenhouse Jr from behind to pick up the pace, leading to a spinout.

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However, while Hamlin managed to dodge the bullet, Stenhouse Jr drifted towards the pit lane, causing a bit of chaos as the other leaders narrowly missed him. Christopher Bell had to go wide to avoid the mess, and Ty Gibbs found just enough room to slip by Stenhouse Jr and the pit wall.