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2025 was a middling season for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Under the rebranded Hyak Motorsports, the No.47 driver finished outside the top-20 more often than not, including 13 consecutive weeks at 20th or lower.
Known for his superspeedway prowess, Stenhouse launched a successful bid in both outings at Echopark Speedway, a track that has come to simulate pack racing ever since the repave. He grabbed his only top-5 result at the 1.54-mile track, while his next best finish comes from a sixth-place result at Texas Motor Speedway, making it his best finish in 21 attempts at the venue.
The Spring race at Bristol saw him qualify on the front row, but he wasn't able to lead any laps and ultimately finished in 22nd. However, Stenhouse turned a corner in the final five races and fetched three top-20 finishes.
The year was also marked by his repeat run-ins with Carson Hocevar, who wrecked him in two of three races at one point. Tensions boiled over at the Mexico City race, where Stenhouse confronted Hocevar on the pit lane.
The Mississippi native addressed the situation and said,
“For me, I’m tired of giving the kid any publicity, anyway, I don’t know how it’s going to play itself out, but it will."Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made sure he spoke to Hocevar while the latter was still in his cockpit. He noted that he wanted to avoid any physical altercation that way.
NASCAR insider backs Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over driver fights
Jordan Bianchi called out NASCAR's double standards when it comes to driver fights, noting how Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined for his scuffle with Kyle Busch, while the incident was also featured in promotional material. In a recent episode of The Teardown podcast, Bianchi went over the debacle and said,
"If Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is going to pop Kyle Busch, I'm not fining him $75,000. I'm probably going to pay him $75,000 for that and go, 'Here's your check. Thank you for that. You just got us on every national outlet in the country and we're not going to embarrass you by fining you 75 grand, which by the way pisses off your sponsor, because your sponsors like, 'Oh man, that makes us look bad.'" "It's so hypocritical to sit there and fine these guys this money and at the same time turn around and use it for commercials. You can't have it both ways," he added. (0:29 onwards)The incident happened during the 2023 All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. After getting wrecked out by Kyle Busch in the opening laps, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. punched the RCR driver post-race, causing a brawl between both teams. His father, Ricky Stenhouse Sr., was also involved and attracted an indefinite suspension.
Busch, meanwhile, wasn't penalised for the altercation.
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Edited by Vignesh Kanna
English (US)