Ricky Stenhouse Jr. talks about NASCAR’s refusal to explain his $75,000 fine

Ahead of the Coca-Cola 600 this Sunday, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. revealed the extent to which NASCAR shared insight into his $75,000 penalty. The JTG Daugherty Racing driver was handed a massive fine and had his crew members suspended for an altercation with Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro.

But Stenhouse remains undecided over whether to appeal against the penalty or not. And because of that, NASCAR is keeping its cards close to its chest.

When asked by FOX Sports about whether NASCAR has discussed the penalty with him, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claimed "they haven't."

"We had our meeting in here this morning, just kind of go over all of the updates like we do every three or four weeks. But no, nobody’s talked to me," he said.

Stenhouse was then asked if NASCAR gave any reasoning behind handing him a $75,000 fine.

"No, they did not. They told us they weren’t going to be able to answer any questions about it until it’s paid or the appeal happens or whatever. So, they acted like it didn’t happen," he added.

As for whether he's going to appeal against the penalty or not, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claimed he is still undecided.

Stenhouse said that he has spent the last week focused solely on the Coca-Cola 600 and what he needs to do to run well on Sunday.

Why NASCAR didn't penalize Kyle Busch while handing a penalty to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Speaking recently on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Elton Sawyer, the Senior Vice President of Competition for NASCAR, explained why the governing body chose not to penalize Kyle Busch for the on-track incident on Lap 2 or the post-race altercation.

Sawyer mentioned the Lap 2 incident on the racetrack and how early it was during the race. He claimed that he'd choose to "defer to Ricky and Kyle" whether they reach an agreement or not about that incident on the track. But from NASCAR's point of view, Sawyer said that they've been consistent in dealing with one driver intentionally hooking someone in the right rear and reacting to that.

But the deciding factor came upon a close examination.

"We really as a sanctioning body, would, and we do, stay out of the on-track incidents unless we see something that blatantly comes back to us that we need to react to. In this case, we reviewed it, we looked at it, we listened to audio, and again, hard racing, but also totally appreciate where the two drivers stand on it," Sawyer explained.

He added that NASCAR wants the two of them to decide and "agree to disagree"

It'll be interesting to see how Ricky Stenhouse Jr. reacts and decides to do about his massive fine after the Coca-Cola 600.