Wrecky Spinhouse is the nickname NASCAR fans have coined for Hyak Motorsports driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. As the name suggests, for some reason or another, he sparks unnecessary crashes and wrecks, much to the dismay of the fans supporting their favorite drivers. Remember when NASCAR returned to racing at Darlington Raceway during the COVID-19 pandemic, he spun his race car on the very first lap.

Then there is last year’s All-Star race, where for no reason he locked horns with Kyle Busch, again at the start of the race that ultimately ended with him into the wall. Now, Stenhouse Jr. is known for his aggression on the racetrack, but it seems like this trait was a part of racing right from the beginning. While the above-mentioned wrecks weren’t egregious or detrimental to his rivals, the same cannot be said for the incident that happened during his Xfinity debut at Nashville Superspeedway.

With just nine laps left in the Pepsi300 at Nashville Superspeedway, the race took an unexpected turn. Stenhouse Jr., the debutante, spun on the frontstretch, provoking a multi-car crash that engulfed Joe Nemechek’s #87 Chevy. At first, the ESPN camera crew and the broadcasters were unable to get a view of the crash, but once the replay hit the screens, they knew that Nemechek had a close call after being launched into the air by Ricky Stenhouse, who himself seemed to have lost control over his race car. Nemechek made a hard contact with #16, flipped his car and landed back on all four wheels.. It was a wild crash.

Things turned out more interesting afterwards. Nemechek, defying all barriers, kept his car engine running. He powered his Chevy back on all wheels and sped down the track as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately, NASCAR had to intervene and drop the red flag, citing safety concerns due to damage sustained to his car. On the other hand, Stenhouse settled for a 23rd-place finish.

Feb 19, 2023; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr (47) leads Joey Logano (22) on the last lap as Kyle Larson (5) crashes with Travis Pastrana (67) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

This crash happened with just 9 laps left in the race, and once the race was green it again, it was teen star Joey Logano who bagged his first win of the season. The 18-year-old was able to hold off Kyle Busch, leading the final 10 laps of the race and beating him off to the finish line by 0.487 seconds. Interestingly, back then, Logano was seen as the young and upcoming star who would lead the line for Joe Gibbs Racing. But he would jump ships to Team Penske and go on to win multiple championships.

Interestingly, Logano, who won the race back in 2009 at Nashville, would end up on the receiving end of the crash sparked by Stenhosue Jr. during this year’s Daytona 500.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. blamed Joey Logano’s decision for his crash at the Daytona 500

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. knows what it feels like to win the biggest NASCAR race of all time. With 15 laps to the Hyak Motorsports driver was running 3rd and was desperately trying to fend off any charges or advances made by his rivals. Logano tried to thread the needle in the middle lane on the corner exit. Stenhouse Jr. could’ve easily ridden the high lane and worked his way on the backstretch. But instead, he made an aggressive block and stacked up the entire field. Next thing you know, there’s a big one, and it took out some of the strong running race cars.

“The No. 47 had a bit of an indecisive moment, and that’s what gets us in trouble at times, when you’re not going to pick one. I had to get to the second car in the row, to have a chance to win the race. Saw my opportunity to get down in front of the No. 4 with Noah. I went to go back in there. Then, he came back down. I started lifting again. At that point, the check up was so big that all the cars behind me are just shoving me into him, and you’re — at that point, you’re along for the ride.” Logano said in the aftermath of the crash.

The big surprise, however, was Kyle Busch, who had taken a punch to his face by Stenhouse last year, shifted the blame to Logano. He was one of the cars that were caught up in the crash. “Logano was by far the fastest car today. Saw a lot of laps led and he could about do anything. The Penske cars were very strong. We still got 20 laps to go and he’s trying to go through the middle and make a hole that isn’t there. Just created chaos.”

With Ricky Stenhouse Jr. already mired in controversy early in the season, there might be more incidents where he would be the central figure and who knows, sets up another post-race brawl.

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