Before the UFC made it cool, people would get their fix of red-blooded bare knuckle action in NASCAR. To be precise, pit lane brawls were very frequent between drivers, crew members or both. As a matter of fact, the first televised NASCAR brawl was after the 1979 Daytona 500 involving Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison. Since then, fights between NASCAR drivers, especially after an incident are not uncommon. One of the most memorable fights has to be the one involving Kyle Busch and Joey Logano at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2017.
Although we know that Rowdy Busch had a short temper, what exactly did Joey Logano do to wind up the JGR driver? Let us take a stroll back in memory lane and revisit one of the biggest brawls NASCAR has seen in the modern era.
Kyle Busch had enough of Logano’s antics in Vegas
Now the drivers are known to throw caution to win when driving for a win on the final few laps. We saw that last year when Austin Dillon dumped both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin at Richmond Raceway. But, during the 2017 Kobalt 400 race at Las Vegas, both Busch and Logano were jostling over third and fourth positions. The incident happened on the backstretch when the JGR driver was trying to fend off the charging No. 22 Penske Ford.
The No. 18 M&M’s Camry was on the high line but that was blocked by Brad Keselowski’s race car. Busch knew that Logano would jump on the inside lane and make a pass on him in turns 3 and 4. To keep him at bay, Busch threaded the needle and made contact with Logano’s race car. Although the contact was minimal and the driver was able to continue, he didn’t appreciate being roughed up. And the next thing you the Penske driver delivers a swift payback by clipping the rear bumper of the No. 18 Toyota.
Busch’s race car went sliding down the racetrack and eventually made it to the pit road sideways. But, the third spot which the two drivers were fighting over was snatched by Chase Elliott and Logano had to settle for a fourth-place finish. However, the hometown hero wasn’t going to take a beating in his own backyard and he went on the lookout for Logano in the pit road. Although, Rowdy Busch staying true to his name tried to get hold of his rival, but his punches landed in thin air as the No. 22 crew swarmed him.
In the end, the then-Joe Gibbs Racing driver walked away with blood pouring from his face. He said after the race, “I got dumped. Flat out drove straight into the corner and wrecked me. It’s how Joey races, he’s going to get it.” Meanwhile, Logano’s version of events was, “I was racing hard there at the end with the Pennzoil Ford. Kyle and I usually race really well together, usually don’t have any issues. He tried to pin me down into the corner underneath Brad. We were about to crash on entry, and I was still trying to gather it up by the center. I was going to spin out, so I’m trying to chase it up and he was there. Definitely not intentional but obviously he thinks that. We’ll move on.”
Things got a 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 heated between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano at LVMS in 2017. pic.twitter.com/0W9A7ytFMn
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 14, 2025
Well, NASCAR didn’t hand penalties to either drivers or the crews involved in the scuffle. The reason cited by the officials was that their emotions got the better of them. “NASCAR was built on the racing that took place on the final lap by two drivers battling for position. The emotions of our athletes run high, and Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are two of the most passionate and competitive drivers in the sport.”
Interestingly, NASCAR has a different approach in how they deal with the fights these days. This was evident when Kyle Busch got into another fight at North Wilkesboro Speedway, only this time around he was on the receiving end of things. Not only did NASCAR hand out fines but also used the fight as promotional material on social media.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn’t get the Logano treatment at NWS
Unlike the Vegas last-lap battle, both Stenhouse Jr. and Busch lost their cool within just one lap after the drop of the green flag. It all started with trading paint of each other’s race cars until Rowdy had enough and dumped the No. 47 Chevy. Stenhouse drove his damaged race car back to the garage and patiently waited for Busch to exchange a few words over the crash.
While the two drivers were arguing over the crash, Stenhouse pulled a surprised right hook which landed on Rowdy’s face. Next thing you know there’s a big melee and crews from both the teams got involved. The fight was broken off, but words were exchanged, as Stenhouse vowed, “I’m going to wreck you at Charlotte.”
Well before the Hyak Motorsports drive would back his words, he received a phone call from Richard Childress and the matter seemed to have resolved. But, NASCAR had to intervene and they brandished a $75,000 fine on Stenhouse. Well, this decision wasn’t favorite among the drivers in the garage, and Chase Elliott couldn’t understand why NASCAR would promote the fight on social media after making such a bold call.
“You are going to fine him, but you are going to promote with it? Like, what are we doing? That’s a little strange to me. … That’s a lot of money to fine a guy. It’s like, ‘It’s not OK, but we are going to blast it all over everything to get more clicks.” Elliott said in a press meet. Well, there’s a huge disparity in how NASCAR viewed fights back in 2017 and in recent times. And just like every other NASCAR ruling, their decision over handling altercations and brawls is also inconsistent and frustrating.
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