NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. threw a right hook at Kyle Busch, and suddenly, an otherwise boring All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway had NASCAR fans buzzing heading into next weekend’s marquee Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Busch had wrecked Stenhouse on the second lap of the $1 million race Sunday night in a move that looked like retaliation for how Stenhouse had raced him earlier. Stenhouse drove his damaged Chevrolet to Busch’s pit stall and parked it, and with no way to get out of the track while the race was going on, stewed in street clothes for hours until Busch arrived at his hauler.

That’s when Stenhouse, after a brief conversation, threw a right hook at the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet, setting off a brief melee that involved members of each driver’s crew — and Stenhouse’s father. The brawl was eventually broken up, but not before more words were exchanged from both sides and Stenhouse vowed, “I’m going to wreck you at Charlotte.”

“Bring it,” Busch replied. “I suck as bad as you,” implying that both drivers are not having great seasons.

The antics could result in a suspension for Stenhouse, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion, other crew members and possibly his father. Busch also could face a penalty if NASCAR determines that he deliberately caused the wreck.

Stenhouse’s fury was evident the moment he parked in Busch’s pit stall, then climbed the pit stand ladder and had words with members of his crew. As Stenhouse climbed down and walked away, his car had to be towed from pit road.

“I parked it there because I figured Kyle would do something similar,” Stenhouse said.

Later, during an interview with Fox Sports, Stenhouse indicated he would confront Busch after the race.

And then he did.

Stenhouse, dressed in yellow shorts and a gray T-shirt, waited for Busch in the infield and confronted him face-to-face before unleashing a punch. Security jumped in and pulled Stenhouse away, falling backward over a tire, while Busch likewise wound up on the ground. Stenhouse’s father, Ricky Sr., got into the fracas and appeared to take at least one of Busch’s punches.

Stenhouse could be heard yelling “Dad!” numerous times, but he couldn’t get to his father.

“First lap of the race, we don’t even have water temp in the car yet and we’re wrecking each other,” Busch said. “I am tired of getting run over by everybody. But that’s what everybody does: everybody runs over everybody to pass everybody.”

Stenhouse clapped back at Busch: “Go back and watch the replay. I didn’t touch you. Not once.”

Stenhouse took another shot at Busch after the fight, saying he had bad-mouthed him ever since Stenhouse once wrecked him at Daytona, and then went on to say that Busch is just frustrated because “he doesn’t run as well as he used to.”

Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, is 13th in points and has yet to win a race this season.

The All-Star Race itself lacked any drama once Kyle Larson arrived by helicopter from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 2021 Cup Series champion had qualified fifth for his Indy 500 debut earlier in the day.

Pole sitter Joey Logano led all but one of the 200 laps to take home $1 million. It was yet another example of NASCAR’s struggles to find the right short track setup despite allowing the use of multiple variations of tires at North Wilkesboro.

“You couldn’t pass,” runner-up Denny Hamlin said. “I would lose a little bit of air there, and I would try to give my car a break and then run at [Logano] again. Hats off to the track, NASCAR and Goodyear for giving it a try. Hopefully, we learned something here for future short tracks.”

Then he smirked and added, “But at least we had an exciting fight in the end. That’s something to talk about.”

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — A little prep work paid off for Joey Logano.

Logano dominated the short track at North Wilkesboro Speedway leading all but one of 200 laps to win his second All-Star Race on Sunday night and earn $1 million.

Logano started on the pole after posting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday and was never really challenged, setting a record by leading more laps than any driver has in the race’s 40-year history.

“We were so fast,” Logano said. “We came here before for testing and ran over 800 laps and really figured out what it was going to take to win the race.”

Logano compared it to a scene in the movie “Miracle” about the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team with crew chief Paul Wolfe making him run lap after lap until he was completely exhausted.

“It’s like when the coach is making the team run the suicide drills and he keeps saying, ‘Again! Again!,'” Logano said. “That was Paul Wolfe to me with the testing. I ran 800 laps. I was sore and I had enough.”

Logano has not won a points race this season, so he said this was a big boost for his team.

“The first thing that goes through your mind is gosh, I wish this counted for points,” Logano said. “But let’s be honest, a million is a lot of money and counts for something.”

He also won the All-Star Race in 2016.

Denny Hamlin finished second and Chris Buescher third in a race that lacked drama for the second straight year at the renovated track.

Kyle Larson, who arrived about an hour before the race after spending the afternoon qualifying fifth for the Indianapolis 500 and flying to North Wilkesboro, finished fourth and came up short in the quest to tie Jimmie Johnson for the most All-Star Race wins with four after starting at the back of the field.

The newly paved track and different versions of soft tires were supposed to create more passing. They didn’t.

Hamlin admitted afterward that he just couldn’t get the lead.

“I would run to him, and then you couldn’t pass,” Hamlin said. “I would lose a little bit of air there, and I would try to give my car a break and then run to him again — just have to be so much faster to get around.”

Said Logano: “If it wasn’t for the clean air [and being out front] I would not have won.”

Team Penske president Michael Nelson called it a great day for the organization after they swept the top three starting spots at Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day.

“We have been close this year [in NASCAR] and to finally make it happen on a day like today, if you had to wait this was the day to get that done,” Nelson said. “A great day for Mr. Penske and the whole organization.”

There only real fireworks came on the second lap when Kyle Busch sent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. into the wall after Stenhouse tried to pass him on the first lap. An upset Stenhouse pulled his wrecked car down pit lane and parked in Busch’s pit stall, got out and climbed a ladder to yell at Busch’s crew.

Afterward, Stenhouse confronted Busch in the pits, then threw a punch at Busch igniting a scuffle that involved members of both crews. Stenhouse said that he was tired of Busch “running his mouth talking about me” after he had wrecked him at Daytona in the past.

“I know he is frustrated because he doesn’t run as well as he used to,” Stenhouse said after the race.

Larson was the big story ahead of the race.

He arrived at North Wilkesboro Speedway about an hour before the race following a busy afternoon

His plane landed at Wilkes County Airport and was then transported via helicopter to the racetrack and then taken by golf cart to his hauler to begin preparations for the 200-lap exhibition race.

Fans cheered his arrival into the track and he waved to them along the way.

NASCAR and its broadcast partner Fox helped accommodate the sport’s star attraction and points leader by moving the start of the race back 16 minutes to 8:30 p.m. to ensure he would arrive in time after shocking some in the racing world by qualifying for the Fast 6 at Indianapolis.

Larson will have to do it again next weekend when he attempts to run the double and finish the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Seventeen drivers qualified for the race based on their past accomplishments. All-Star Open winner Ty Gibbs and second place finisher Bubba Wallace advanced into the race on Sunday, along with fan vote winner Noah Gragson.

Hendrick Motorsports vice president of competition Chad Knaus marveled at what Larson was able to do in his first qualifying runs in Indianapolis in an open-wheel racecar against the best drivers in the world.

“We were watching him run and we were like, my gosh, I can’t believe this,” Knaus said. “I was like my goodness how did that happen? Very limited track time. Did a couple of tests. Was able to go up there and he holds a pretty good wheel as anybody I have seen. He is a phenomenal talent. He gets it. He is so emotionally stable. You can put him in just about any environment and he is going to excel.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson kept calm when something seemed amiss in his first qualifying attempt for the Indianapolis 500.

So did everyone else at Arrow McLaren.

They knew they had plenty of speed in his car, so they pushed the No. 17 back to Gasoline Alley, gave a thorough exam to the Chevrolet engine that had Larson on the verge of making the field, and headed right back to the track to give it another try.

This time, Larson was able to stand on the gas all the way through his four-lap run, posting a 232.563 mph average to put the NASCAR star in position to run for the pole. He was sixth-quickest on the first day of qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leaving him one of 12 that will shoot for the first spot on the starting grid Sunday.

“I’ll definitely take that,” said Larson, who also will try to become the first driver since Tony Stewart in 2001 to complete the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day May 26. “Proud of the team for not all of us freaking out.”

There was reason for concern, though, during what started off as a tough day for Arrow McLaren.

Larson was the sixth of 34 cars onto the track, a favorable draw given that quicker speeds tend to happen earlier in the day, when the weather is cooler. And he was off to a good start when, late in the attempt, Larson said his engine seemed to miss; it turned out to be a sort of non-fatal hiccup that cost several other drivers promising runs throughout the day.

Larson’s team wanted him to finish and post a time, but he played it safe and came down pit road.

“We were happy with the speed we had in the 17 before the event happened there,” said Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward, who is working with Hendrick Motorsports to qualify Larson for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Larson could not eclipse 233 mph on any of his four laps when he returned to the track, leaving him off the pace set by Team Penske, which locked down the top three spots with defending race winner Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power.

Still, the run was good enough for Larson to join Arrow McLaren teammate Alexander Rossi in the top six.

“Honestly, I feel like the nerves were a lot less going the second time, even not completing that first run,” Larson said. “I’ve never gotten to qualify like that where you get multiple shots at it.”

Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon, who grew up in nearby Pittsboro and dreamed of running the Indy 500, took a picture of Larson with his cellphone as he finished his run. Gordon then high-fived Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, who also showed up to support their driver.

“Now we can breathe,” Gordon said. “Now we can ramp up for tomorrow.”

It could be a big Sunday.

After going for the pole in Indianapolis, Larson is scheduled to fly to North Wilkesboro for the NASCAR All-Star Race in what amounts to a dry run for Memorial Day weekend. But with rain in the forecast in North Carolina, Larson hoped that race would get pushed to Monday night, giving him a bigger travel cushion.

“That would be nice,” Larson said, brightening at the possibility. “I hope it rains tomorrow!”

Larson wasn’t the only Arrow McLaren driver to have problems on the first day of Indy 500 qualifying.

Earlier, Callum Ilott posted a four-lap average of 231.995 mph that put him in the top 10, but the time was thrown out when a technical inspection discovered a problem with the left rear wheel offset on his career. Ilott was slightly slower when he made a second attempt, then he went 232.230 later in the day, putting himself solidly in the field.

Pato O’Ward pulled out of the lineup for his initial run when the team decided to make some changes to his setup, then he had a similar problem to Larson’s first try when he got on the track. O’Ward eventually made the fast 12 at 232.434 mph.

“It’s settling just to know that we’ll be fine to get in the show,” O’Ward said. “This place, you just can’t take it for granted. You’re good one day, you come back the next and everything seems upside down. We just have to keep pushing.”