Year after their All-Star fight, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. warns others in his message to Kyle Busch

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brought up his last year's fight with Kyle Busch heading into the All-Star Race this weekend. Stenhouse Jr. warned other drivers in his X (formerly Twitter) message to Richard Childress Racing veteran after the latter jokingly claimed to trigger a caution at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

To recall, Stenhouse Jr. and Busch made contact on the opening lap that forced the latter driver into the wall. His rival retaliated and took him out on lap two before he exited the race early due to significant damage to the front right of his #47 Chevrolet Camaro.

The two drivers met after the race, which later stirred up a fight, where the now Hyak Motorsports driver threw a punch at Busch. The incident prompted NASCAR to fine him $75,000 and suspend the involved individuals, including his father.

In the upcoming All-Star Race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gave the gird a heads-up amid the introduction of the promoter's caution. The new rule allows Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith to throw the caution once between laps 100-220, though a natural caution would void it, given that it comes out after lap 200.

“Just a heads up, may want to pick a different driver this year,” the 37-year-old wrote on X.

This tweet follows Kyle Busch jokingly claiming he would try to initiate a natural caution if Kyle Larson creates a huge gap from the lead. In other words, the RCR driver could deliberately wreck a driver to force the yellow flag out.

Stenhouse Jr. and Busch are eligible drivers for the main event for different reasons. The former driver made the list after winning a race last year (YellaWood 500), while the latter qualified for being a NASCAR champion (2015 and 2019) and an All-Star winner (2017).

The NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday. The 250 lapper will field 23 drivers for a chance to win the $1 million prize money.

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“Hopefully give the fans something to cheer about”: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on gameplan for NASCAR All-Star Race

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. expressed excitement about racing for $1 million in NASCAR's All-Star Race this weekend. Considering the event is a non-points-paying race, the Tennessee native won't mind taking risks, hoping to fire up the fans.

The #47 Hyak Motorsports driver said (via Speedway Digest):

“The All-Star Race is always intense - no points on the line, just pride and a big check. It's a chance to go out there, take some risks, and really show what your team is made of. I'm excited to mix it up and hopefully give the fans something to cheer about.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driving the #47 Chevy in the All-Star Race last year - Source: Getty

The upcoming All-Star Race will mark the third consecutive season the event has been held at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It was previously hosted at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020 and Texas Motor Speedway in 2021-2022.

Joey Logano is the reigning All-Star winner after dominating last year by leading 199 of 200 laps. Following his infamous DNF last season, Stenhouse Jr. is one of the drivers looking for their first All-Star win.