Logano wins All-Star Race; Stenhouse punches Busch
Joey Logano provided the fireworks on the track in a dominant performance Sunday night, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch had a real flareup that closed the NASCAR All-Star Race weekend at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
Polesitter Logano put his No. 22 Ford out front for a record-setting 199 of 200 laps and snared the $1 million purse, winning the Cup Series’ prized non-points race.
Without another set of soft tires, Logano stayed out when NASCAR threw its final planned caution with 50 laps left, while many in the field took on new rubber.
The 2016 All-Star Race winner then stayed ahead of Denny Hamlin to win by 0.636 seconds.
“We came here and tested and ran over 800 laps at the tire test,” said Logano. “I wish this one counted for points, but a million bucks will work as well.”
Chris Buescher, who was involved in two dramatic endings over the past two weeks, came in third.
After Busch was squeezed into the wall with Stenhouse just ahead of him, Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet caught Stenhouse’s No. 47 and turned it into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 2 for the first caution.
An angry Stenhouse then parked his damaged Chevrolet in Busch’s pits and confronted Busch’s
crew chief Randall Burnett.
That carried over after the race.
With his car retired after two laps, Stenhouse was forced to stay at the 0.625-mile speedway, which has only a back gate to exit the infield and no tunnel. He vowed to see Busch afterward.
The two got face-to-face at Busch’s hauler and aired their differences. Stenhouse then suddenly connected with a right hook to the two-time Cup champion’s left cheek, and a melee broke out.
“I’m not sure why he was so mad,” said Stenhouse. “He hit the fence and came off the wall and ran into me. When I was talking to him, he kept saying I wrecked him.
“It’s built-up frustration with how he runs his mouth all the time about [me]. I know he’s frustrated because he doesn’t run as good as he used to. I understand that.”
MEMORIAL DAY DOUBLE
Kyle Larson will be the fifth driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola
600 on the same day after qualifying for the Indy 500 on Sunday.
Larson, 31, will start fifth in his Indy 500 debut this Sunday and join John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch as the only drivers to attempt the Indy-Charlotte Double, also called the Memorial Day Double — the Indy 500 during the day and then the CocaCola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Larson will be on the second row of the starting grid at the Indy 500 after posting a four-lap average speed of 232.846 in qualifying.
After qualifying, Larson took a helicopter ride to Indianapolis International Airport and flew to North Carolina. He then took another flight to Wilkes County Airport and hopped in another helicopter to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race, where he finished fourth.
Larson, who leads NASCAR’s championship standings and posted a win at Kansas Speedway on May 5, will take the same route and transportation this Sunday to Charlotte, where he won in 2021.
Stewart is the only one of the four drivers to previously attempt The Double and finish every lap of both races when he achieved the feat in 2001.