Remember when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch got into a fiasco and there was even physical violence involved? Stenhouse Jr. ended up punching Busch after the race because his car got heavily damaged when Busch retaliated with his car during the 200-lap race. However, it seems once again, there is a Déjà vu moment and Stenhouse Jr. is just following the same routine during the Chili Bowl Nationals.

However, this time, it wasn’t so much about the physical altercation, but more about the car-to-car bump. At the end of the Chili Bowl qualifier for Friday, the two drivers had a moment as he tried to “repay” the frustration. 

Stenhouse was just trying to repay the favor

Just as the checkered flag came down with Logan Seavey securing the fourth position and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. securing the fifth, an unusual feat took place on the track. One could see the two cars colliding and Stenhouse Jr. climbing on top of Seavey. This had raised eyebrows for audiences and fans wanted to understand what was it that went wrong. However, right after this happened on tracks, Stenhouse confirmed that it wasn’t his “intent” to topple Seavey. 

While Justin Grant claimed the checkered flag of Qualifier 1, things seemed to go haywire between the two drivers. But what ignited the same? According to Ricky Stenhouse Jr., some on-race incidents might have led up to this. During the race, Stenhouse Jr. realized that Seavey had been quite aggressive and even tried to “use him up”. However, he had intended to give up a slight tap on his rear bumper, which ultimately culminated in a complete collision. 

Speaking of the same, Stenhouse Jr. said, “I got used up by Seavey and was gonna repay my frustrations with a tag to his rear bumper. When he slowed down, I caught his left rear. Not ideal. Not what I was expecting to do. Was just gonna give him a shot to the rear bumper. Wasn’t really thrilled with – I thought he’s good enough here that he’d hit the bottom and not use me up for fourth. I don’t know. Watched all week. I should’ve expected it, I guess.” 

The incident followed a sequence where Stenhouse had already lost position trying to pass Seavey. The miscalculation also consequently affected his angle, and it was so off that the collision seemed like an inevitable outcome. Although he hadn’t planned on it, the move blew up and it soon became a post-race event. Speaking of the same, Stenhouse Jr added, “I’d gotten back around him, but my angle was so far off for where he was, and my only option was over the curb. That gave us up a spot there coming into line, which is crucial. Wasn’t real thrilled about that, and not ideal after the race. More of was going to be a tag in the rear bumper”. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. admitted that he hadn’t yet spoken to Logan Seavey about the incident but expressed his intention to address it soon.

Seavey is not happy about Stenhouse Jr.’s post-race move

Logan Seavey has also been quite vocal about what went wrong during the race and how Ricky Stenhouse Jr. could have handled the situation differently. Speaking of the same, Seavey said, “He kind of backed me up a lot of the race, which is just part of racing. He kind of spun in front of me. I cut him a lot of breaks there, and then at the last lap, I really got a hold of the bottom down the back stretch. … I’d cut him enough breaks, I felt like, throughout that race by lifting probably every lap for him out of the cushion”. 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has a history of post-race incidents, the recent one being with Kyle Busch at the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The two drivers clashed on the first lap, with Busch appearing to intentionally bump Stenhouse on the second. In response, Stenhouse parked his damaged car in Busch’s pit and confronted his crew atop the spotter’s ladder.

Such was the extent of the blowout that Stenhouse Jr. was also imposed a fine of $75,000. Harping on the same, Seavey added, “He’s supposed to be a professional race car driver and control his emotions. He has corporate sponsors. I think a lot of people should be embarrassed by that action…I told Flo, if he’s that mad and he thinks I did him that dirty, he punched Kyle Busch in the face a few weeks ago. At least come talk to me, and if you still feel like it’s worth fighting for, then whatever.” Ricky Stenhouse Jr., being a professional NASCAR driver, has further raised eyebrows, harping on whether this post-race behavior is acceptable. Do you think he should not be blamed or was it really a mistake of such a big stature?