Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has yet to decide whether he will appeal the $75,000 fine.
The JTG Daugherty Racing driver recently made national headlines after throwing a right hook at Kyle Busch, causing a post-race altercation.
Stenhouse told reporters on Saturday inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center that NASCAR did not debate the punishment at its monthly meeting because it is unclear whether Stenhouse and his team will appeal it.
“We’re still undecided,” Stenhouse said. “We spent all week really focused on racing here at Charlotte, and what we need to do to run well here.”
Despite hitting the 36-year-old driver with the largest fine issued specifically because of a fight, NASCAR actively promoted nearly every angle of the altercation on social media.
“Definitely surprised,” Stenhouse said. “It’s a lot. One that is obviously the most they’ve ever fined anybody. I guess we won something — highest fine.”
‘I don’t think this is a good thing for the long run’
Daniel Suarez called out NASCAR in a post on X when the penalty was announced.
He spoke about his words on Saturday, emphasizing that it is important for drivers to show their emotions and personalities — to a certain extent.
“We have had several conversations with many people in NASCAR at all different levels,” Suarez said. “The fans want to see personalities. They want to see emotion. They want to see, ‘Who is Daniel Suarez?’ ‘Who is Ricky Stenhouse?’ ‘Who is Chase Elliott?’ ‘Who are all these people?’
“In my mind, if we go on this route, eventually every single driver is going to be acting exactly the same, because we can’t show anything. I don’t think this is a good thing for the long run.”
Chase Elliott wins on Saturday at Charlotte
Fans inside Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday got to see the sport’s Most Popular Driver in victory lane.
Chase Elliott stole the show in an eventful Xfinity Series race, working through the field to reach the top 10 after starting 30th. He held off recent Roval winner Sam Mayer, who led the most laps on Saturday.
“From a feel perspective, I was kind of winging it because I hadn’t been in an (Xfinity Series) car in a while,” Elliott said. “It was fun to have some different lanes and some options, and you could hit the wall and your day wasn’t over. It was just a whole different vibe than what we get on Sunday.”
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