Racing fans didn't need much motivation to be excited for this weekend with the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 all taking place Sunday. But the casual onlookers are much more invested this week after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch got into a fight after the NASCAR All-Star Race this past weekend.
The fight proved to be costly for Stenhouse, who was fined $75,000 by NASCAR on Wednesday, the largest fine ever handed down by the association for a fight. Amid the scuffle, Stenhouse said he would make sure to wreck Busch at Charlotte Motor Speedway this coming Sunday, to which Busch replied, "Bring it, I don't give a f***."
Richard Childress, who owns the racing team that Busch's No. 8 car represents, also jumped into the fray, saying he would fight Stenhouse if Busch's car gets wrecked. "I hope it doesn't come to that," Childress said. "But we'll be ready if it does."
All that drama serves as the backdrop of a race in which these two drivers are long shots to win outright — Busch is +2000 and Stenhouse is +15000. But that hasn't prevented sportsbooks from posting a head-to-head line for the for the two drivers — on the track, not in the ring, to be clear.
Busch is -250 to win their head-to-head race matchup Sunday with Stenhouse listed at +190, via BetMGM.
"With Ricky and Kyle, I guess there is a bigger spotlight than usual on each of them, after last week," BetMGM senior trader Michael Ranftle said. "Fans might be looking for something to happen between them on the track Sunday. Early interest was on Ricky at +210 so we ticked it back down a little. Ricky has run well here in recent years."
We'll see how things play out for Stenhouse and Busch at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night.
