Ricky Stenhouse Jr made headlines after punching Kyle Busch in the face as the latter completed his All-Star race. The two drivers were involved in an early tussle on Lap 2 that saw Busch intentionally wreck Stenhouse Jr’s #47 car, thus ending his race early. Remember how Chase Elliott received a one-race suspension after intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin during the 2023 Coca-Cola 600? You would’ve thought Busch was guaranteed the same after the All-Star race. However, it was Stenhouse Jr who came off worse last weekend.

In response to his unsavory treatment on the racetrack, Stenhouse Jr used his fists to get even with his rival driver, which did not end well for him, his crew, and even his family members. In the aftermath of the brawl, NASCAR handed the biggest fine for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct – $75,000 – to the driver, along with four-race suspensions for two crew members and an indefinite one for his father. As hefty as the fine is – notably the biggest in NASCAR fight history – it seems Stenhouse Jr has devised an ingenious plan that could help him pay it off.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr is a true businessman

While the #47 driver was surely not getting a good night’s rest owing to the money dagger dangling over his head, it seems an unlikely friend has come up with a solution. Sharing a video on his X account, Bob Pockrass was seen giving a hilarious suggestion to the brawling racer. “Auction off the shorts to pay your fine!” Pockrass said boomingly, earning the JTG Daugherty Racing driver’s interest!

Notably, there’s a growing trend amongst the boxing community to get hold of the shorts worn by their favorite boxer during a boxing match. Recently, the white satin trunks worn by Muhammad Ali were put up for auction. And it was estimated to fetch somewhere between $4-6 million. So naturally, the idea caught the racer’s eye. Reacting to the plan, he said, “Auction off the shorts to pay the fine? Man, that was my first day wearing those shorts. If you’re thinking it would raise money, I would do that.”

Furthermore, Stenhouse Jr also threw a slight jab at NASCAR and Kyle Busch and indicated that a fine doesn’t deter him, and if backed by money, he’d do it again! “If we got to 150, maybe we’d do it again. I don’t know,” he said. Bob being Bob, even asked why he decided to wear the shorts after the early exit from the race. “Were they the only shorts you had?”

Ricky responded, “At the time, yes, everything else was in the motor home. So I wore those in. It was hot. So I was like, ‘You know, I’m just gonna wear these in.’ And that’s why I ended up in them.” During their conversation, as Stenhouse Jr pondered over Pockrass’ suggestion, the journalist mentioned how he’d share the video online and analyze the response it gets. And, well, most (if not all) signs point to an auction!

While many X users approved the idea with a simple “Awesome,” there were others who made some interesting suggestions, too! A few mentioned how, since this was Pockrass’ brainchild, he should sign the shorts along with Ricky. “Ricky and Bob dual autographs on the shorts.” Another fan gave the #47 driver a nickname, commenting, “Auction off the shorts, Right Hook Ricky!” And, well, one of the most striking ones was this response: “Also get KFB to sign them.” 

Speaking of Kyle Busch, he walked away with a clean chit despite his aggressive driving, which ruined not just Stenhouse Jr’s race but also Ty Gibbs’. So, why did the JTG Daugherty Racing driver get such a huge penalty? NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, made his case. “When you wait 198 laps and you make those decisions that were made, we’re going to react to that,” he said. After his race ended on Lap 2, Ricky Stenhouse Jr waited to confront Kyle Busch in the latter’s garage.

Sawyer added, “Granted, there was no tunnel. Granted, there was no crossover bridge. But better decisions could have been made throughout that period of time between the incident that happened on the racetrack and the incident that happened in the garage post-race.” As NASCAR explained its reasoning for penalizing the JTG Daugherty Racing stable, the #47 driver did the same. And despite the penalties, he doesn’t seem to regret his decision to right-hook Busch!

Stenhouse Jr feels he was in the right to express himself

The reaction by both Kyle Busch and Rick Stenhouse Jr was partly because of the frustration of not being able to do well this season. Busch is nowhere near hitting his previous peaks; meanwhile, the 2023 Daytona 500 winner has been awful in his first 13 starts, with only 2 Top-10s so far (P6 at Atlanta and P4 at Talladega). Looking back at the aggression that ensued, the situation could have been handled better.

According to Stenhouse Jr, if Busch had started the conversation apologetically, the outcome would’ve been different. “I do know that if there was some sort of sympathy, apology, like ‘Hey, I crossed the line,’ then, 98% sure, it wouldn’t have gotten to that point. I don’t think I really regret it because I felt like it needed to be done,” Ricky said in an interview with FOX.

Furthermore, Stenhouse Jr also acknowledged the support he’s getting and said, “A lot of people in the industry and outside the industry got my back, and they keep posting all of that online. I don’t really have to say a whole lot about the fines or the situations. I think everybody else is doing it for us.”

It’s understandable why Ricky Stenhouse Jr hasn’t been thrown off by the massive penalty levied on him. After all, when veterans like Dale Earnhardt Jr make a solid case for you, it does count for something, right? Notably, on his Dale Jr Download podcast, the JR Motorsports owner disagreed with NASCAR’s stance. He even mentioned Chase Elliott being handed a one-race suspension after the Coca-Cola 600 last year.

“We’ve seen some people sit out of races for right-hooking people – at Charlotte with Chase Elliott and so forth. I didn’t really think Kyle should be suspended. I didn’t think anything about what Kyle did until the big fine that Ricky [got], and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, that much for Ricky and nothing for Kyle? Okay,’” Junior said.

While the beef might have simmered down for now, it will be interesting to see Rowdy’s response at Charlotte this weekend! Do you think the #8 racer will get his revenge on the #47 driver?