"It's a bit of an overreaction" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. questions NASCAR's inconsistency in punishment amid Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s penalty

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has called NASCAR's penalty on Ricky Stenhouse Jr. an "overreaction". He has also opined that the penalty turned out to be a harsh one owing to the magnitude of the event.

This comes after Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 for getting into a physical fight with Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro after the All-Star Race last week.

At the start of the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. attempted an overtake on Busch during which the the latter was pushed against the wall. Then in the next lap, Busch pushed Stenhouse Jr., seemingly on purpose. That didn't end well and he was forced to retire. He waited at the track till the end of the race after which he got into a heated argument with Busch and ended up punching him in the face.

The incident gained traction on social media and NASCAR then fined Stenhouse Jr $75,000 and suspended two of his crew members for multiple races. Dale Earnhardt Jr. feels that the fine was a hefty one because of the hype surrounding the event. He shared his views while speaking on the Dale Jr Download podcast.

"I feel like how we got to this big $75,000 penalty for Stenhouse is because that it happened on such a large stage, that happened in front of so many uh cameras, cell phones. All of the media was involved," he said. (6:05)

Dale Earnhardt Jr further elaborated on the same:

"I think it's unfair, I really do I think that it's a bit of an overreaction on NASCAR's part because they overreacted unknowingly off of the attention that it had gotten," (7:25)

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. defends Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s attempt at overtaking which triggered the later brawl

NASCAR returned to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star Race this season. Joey Logano won the 200-lap action, leading 199 laps. This symbolized that overtaking was a difficult condition for the drivers on the short track, which is also the reason Earnhardt Jr. defended the #47 driver, Stenhouse Jr.

Talking about Stenhouse Jr.'s early lunge to attempt the overtake, Earhardt Jr. stated that the track is a hard one to overtake on, and so, starts or restarts are the only genuine opportunities for drivers to attempt one. He said (via On3.com):

"And Stenhouse is right. Short race, not a lot of opportunity to – passes are difficult. He saw that and felt that in practice. He probably knew, gotta get everything you can on restarts."

Moreover, Earnhardt Jr. felt that Stenhouse Jr. did not "deserve" to be pushed into the wall. He also added that the driver would have gone home if there was a tunnel on the track for the drivers.

"Could Kyle have done some things? Maybe not hit the wall? I think so. Did Ricky Stenhouse physically run him in the fence? No. Did he deserve to get wrecked? Did Stenhouse deserve to get crashed? No. Does Stenhouse go home if he can leave the track? Yes," he stated.