Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wouldn't have fought Kyle Busch if North Wilkesboro had a tunnel

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hilariously pointed out that a logistical issue directly caused the confrontation between himself and Kyle Busch at the end of the All-Star Race over the weekend.

During the latest episode of Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie, Stenhouse Jr. revealed to his peer that if North Wilkesboro Speedway had a tunnel where he could’ve left the track after being wrecked, he would’ve. Instead, he sat in his hauler and stewed for 198 laps, and that’s partly why the fight broke out.

“If there would’ve been a tunnel, I would’ve been at home at the end of the race,” Stenhouse Jr. told LaJoie, regarding being stuck at North Wilkesboro following the wreck. “I would not have sat around. But when you’re stuck in there. Like, I felt like I kind of got calm, but then all of a sudden I’m like, I’m still here.”

Obviously, with a ton of time to sit and get angry all over again, Stenhouse Jr. had to stand up to Busch after the race. It’s an interesting dynamic, as at most tracks this wouldn’t have been an issue, and Stenhouse Jr. would’ve watched the end of the race from somewhere else.

Moreover, Stenhouse Jr. added some more color to his explanation, stating that he simply had nowhere else to go, and even thought about meeting Busch at his personal bus, as he was parked near Stenhouse Jr.’s mode of transportation.

“We’re sitting there. I’m like, I’m not going to go to pit road,” Stenhouse Jr. added. “I’m like, our busses are parked next to each other. Maybe I’ll see him back there. I’ll just see where he goes.

“I kind of hoped the media had forgot about it, a little bit. Just like, oh he didn’t come to pit road. I would see him at the hauler. So I was just sitting there.”

Regardless, it’s easy to see why Stenhouse Jr. was so mad after the All-Star Race, as the money could’ve gone a long way for Stenhouse Jr.’s single-car team if he was able to defeat Joey Logano.

Over the last couple of days, a large contingent has agreed that on the replay, it looks like Stenhouse didn’t really do anything wrong to Busch. He ran up the middle and Busch got into the wall. So, the No. 47 wheelman was right to stew over the situation.

Moving forward, we’ll see if Ricky Stenhouse Jr. decides to seek more revenge on Kyle Busch, and if North Wilkesboro elects to build a tunnel to prevent moments like what we saw on Sunday from taking place again.