NASCAR Cup Series: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. responds to Kyle Busch

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. responded to Kyle Busch after the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series champion took a shot at him in regard to last Saturday night’s race.

Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was responsible for causing a number of accidents in last Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Among the accidents caused by Stenhouse Jr. in his #17 Ford was an accident involving a total of 26 of the 40 drivers in the field. That accident took place on lap 54 of the 168-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Daytona International Speedway, and it knocked seven drivers out of the race.

Just 11 laps later, Stenhouse Jr. caused another accident involving seven drivers, and this accident knocked Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and three others out of the race. Busch, like many others, was not pleased with Stenhouse Jr. after the race, and he has not let go of the matter since.

On Friday afternoon, Busch discussed this accident as well as the fact that Stenhouse Jr. did not reach out to him about it. He stated that he was disappointed that Stenhouse Jr. did not reach out to him, and he also took a shot at the 30-year-old when he was asked about would affect how he races him in the future.

Here is what Busch had to say, according to USA Today.

"“I can’t worry about people that far back in the field.”"

Here is a video of Busch discussing the matter.

"I can't worry about people that far back in the field." @KyleBusch didn't hold back when asked about his clash with the 17. pic.twitter.com/4LWsMVyMCP
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 13, 2018

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Stenhouse Jr. was not impressed with what Busch had to say about him in this press conference, and between the second and third rounds of qualifying for this Saturday night’s race, the Quaker State 400, at Kentucky Speedway, he let him know it.

Stenhouse Jr. walked over to Busch while Busch was sitting in his #18 Toyota getting ready to qualify for the race in the third and final round of qualifying, and he leaned down by the window of his car to talk to him. While the actual discussion between Stenhouse Jr. and Busch was not recorded, Stenhouse Jr. told reporters the gist of what he said during this discussion.

Here is what Stenhouse Jr. told reporters about the matter during NBC Sports Network’s live broadcast of qualifying for tomorrow night’s race.

"“I felt like he ran his mouth enough on his radio and then after the race that I didn’t really have anything to say to him and I honestly feel that I normally do reach out to people when I make mistakes, and I clearly made a mistake, but with him running his mouth, I just felt like I don’t really need to call him.“I just let him know that. I was like ‘Hey, you’re right, you do run a lot further up front,” but I was like ‘Pick and choose your battles wisely because you will have to deal with me sometime whether you’re lapping me or we get our cars better and we’re up there racing with you.’ I told him if he wanted keep running his mouth, he could come over and do it around me and I’ll stop it for him myself.“I’m fine, but if he wants to keep running his mouth, he can come over and do it to me.”"

Here is a video of Stenhouse Jr. discussing the matter.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. To Kyle Busch: "Pick And Choose Your Battles Wisely"

"Pick and choose your battles wisely."Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. responded to Kyle Busch's comments about why he didn't talk to Kyle, saying Kyle was "running his mouth."

Posted by NASCAR on NBC on Friday, July 13, 2018

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Is a rivalry brewing between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. even though they rarely race for position against one another except in restrictor plate races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway? Will Stenhouse Jr. and the Roush Fenway Racing team as a whole improve to the point where Stenhouse Jr. can challenge Busch for position more often?