Fox’s broadcast of the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday largely went smoothly throughout the actual race. However, when the network went to interview Joey Logano, the winner of the race, their interview was interrupted by an all-out brawl between two of Logano’s peers.
The caution flag came out in just the second lap of the race after Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were battling for position and made contact. Busch ultimately clipped Stenhouse from behind, sending him into the wall and prematurely ending his race.
Caution on Lap 2. 👀 pic.twitter.com/6hix2jAvcj
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 20, 2024
Naturally, Stenhouse wasn’t too happy with how this situation went down, which he made known publically while the race was still going on in a conversation with Bob Pockrass, saying that he would “handle it after the race”.
More from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who said he can’t leave so he will see Kyle Busch after the race and he will handle it. I asked how he will handle it. RSJ response: “You can just watch afterwards.” pic.twitter.com/csX0Hvuf5R
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 20, 2024
He certainly stayed true to his word. But it couldn’t have come at a worse time for Fox, who was interviewing Joey Logano after his victory in the race right before Stenhouse lived up to his talk by throwing a right hand directly at Busch.
“I think all the rules go out the window,” said Logano as Fox cut to the wild brawl that also ended up including both pit crews. “We maintained it all day. Feels good, feels great.”
Fox’s interview of Joey Logano after his victory at the NASCAR All-Star Race was interrupted after a full-on fight broke out between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.👀pic.twitter.com/WQooZGS0B2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 20, 2024
Logano was quickly rushed out of his interview to focus on the brawl that was ongoing. Which is certainly an interesting decision to make if you are Fox.
This wasn’t just a back-and-forth pushing match. As you can see, this was a fight that got pretty ugly pretty fast, with Stenhouse being needed to be held back from Busch.
Stenhouse sure wasn’t lying when he said he was going to “handle it” after the race. But it is a bit of a shame that Logano’s moment after his victory was ruined a bit.