"If you think it'll raise money, I'll do that": Ricky Stenhouse Jr. agrees to NASCAR insider's unique plan for paying $75000 fine

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has concurred with NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass' unconventional approach to paying his historic $75,000 penalty. This comes after the JTG Daugherty Racing driver punched Kyle Busch for wrecking him early on in the All-Star Race.

The $1 million dash at the North Wilkesboro Speedway witnessed an opening lap debacle between the Richard Childress Racing driver and Stenhouse Jr. The #47 Chevrolet tried to seep into the tight space between the #8 Chevrolet and Michael McDowell's #34 Ford. Busch paid the price with his front left wrecked by the Mississippi native.

In pursuit of payback, the two-time Cup Series champion did the same to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 2, ending the latter's 200-lap run quite early. The deliberate wreck enraged the #47 Chevy driver, following which he got into a fistfight with the RCR driver as soon as the All-Star Race ended.

Moving forward, NASCAR has slapped Stenhouse Jr. with the biggest penalty ever in the sport's history amounting to $75000, and has suspended his father and other crew members for their involvement in the scuffle. During JTG Daugherty Racing's fan day, Bob Pockrass suggested a strange way of paying the skyrocketing fine, to which Ricky Stenhouse Jr. agreed.

"Auction off your shorts to pay the fine," Pockrass opined.

"If you think it'll raise money, I would do that. If it [penalty] got to 150 [grand] maybe we could do it again or something. That was a brand new pair of workout shorts, they got the work on it," Stenhouse Jr. replied.

NASCAR VP of Competition reasons Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s stringent penalty as Kyle Busch walks free

After facing a setback early on at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, Stenhouse Jr. sat in his hauler and reflected upon his dismal outing. Moreover, he went through a roller coaster of emotions about letting the matter slide or confronting Kyle Busch for his act. After much consideration, the JTG Daugherty Racing driver opted for the latter and punched the 39-year-old.

Though both parties were involved in the fistfight, NASCAR VP of Competition Elton Sawyer believed that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had ample time to cool down his rage and make "better decisions" than to bring his crew to capture Busch during the altercation.

As a result, Stenhouse Jr. has been awarded a $75k penalty. Moreover, his mechanic Clint Myrick, and tuner Keith Matthews will sit out for the next eight and four races, respectively.

Furthermore, NASCAR has indefinitely suspended the #47 Chevy driver's father Richard Stenhouse for his involvement in the brawl, thereby violating the Member Code of Conduct.

Sawyer presented the rationale behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s historic penalty and told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

"There could have been different decisions made once we start to get to the point where it gets physical. Better decisions could have been made throughout that period of time that between the incident that happened on the racetrack and the incident that happened in the garage post race."

Since Kyle Busch's move wasn't premeditated as he had no idea what was waiting for him near Stenhouse Jr.'s garage, the RCR driver was let go by the officials from the harsh consequences.