Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had the worst possible start to his 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The Hyak Motorsports #47 Chevrolet driver was at the receiving end of some major ire from fans at Bowman Gray Stadium this weekend after he managed to wreck fan-favorite Burt Myers during the 75-lap-long feature race.
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Myers has a huge following in Winston-Salem thanks to his 11 titles at the venue. On-track contact by Stenhouse Jr. led to Myers getting planted into the wall. The red flags were out soon. Fans immediately expressed their displeasure, greeting Stenhouse Jr., who was stationary on the track, with a multitude of middle fingers.
Several from the NASCAR fraternity also reacted to the incident and its immediate aftermath. Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, who is used to seeing his driver at the receiving end of fans’ displeasure, expressed surprise at seeing someone else receive more middle fingers during the race.
“Damn, I thought Bubba got a lot of middle fingers. I think that was about 30k for Ricky,” wrote Kraft on X.
Damn I thought Bubba got a lot of middle fingers. I think that was about 30k for Ricky.
— Freddie Kraft (@FreddieKraft) February 3, 2025
“I hope he’s got armed security to get out of there tonight,” replied one fan to the post. “Ricky deserves it,” added another.
I hope he’s got armed security to get out of there tonight
— Tyler Dilley (@tdilley1995) February 3, 2025
I'm bad at spelling myself so I don't like being that guy but,… You spelled Wrecky wrong brutha
— Das ist Nicely (@NicelysLeagues) February 3, 2025
One fan touched on Stenhouse Jr.’s driving tendencies and exclaimed: “If a driver was going to mess up someone’s race it would be Wreck ’em Stenhouse!”
Another person defended Bubba while throwing Stenhouse Jr. under the bus. “Unlike Bubba, Ricky actually deserves his.”
The rough-up between the two drivers resulted in Myers not being able to qualify for the 200-lap Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray. The fans’ reactions were understandable to an extent.
Myers analyzes contact with Stenhouse Jr.
Myers was not happy with the way his outing ended prematurely at Bowman Gray.
“It was definitely the #47. His bumper and I’m in the infield, so I guess that tells the story. It was an awesome experience. I just hate for it to end the way it did… but we had a great time,” said the 49-year-old driver.
“I got shoved into the #47 and pushed him out. When I got under him, I don’t know if he was upset about that or what. But we ended up hitting the wall. I’ll have to watch the replay to know exactly what happened,” added Myers.
The Winston-Salem crowd was certainly taking no prisoners, just as everyone hoped they would not when NASCAR announced their return to the area in 2025. Seems like the event will be remembered for the middle-finger incident as much as for the action on the track.
