Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season start did not go as he would have hoped with the Hyak Motorsports driver receiving criticism from fans at Bowman Gray Stadium this weekend. The #47 Chevrolet driver was flipped off by the fans in typical ‘Madhouse’ fashion after he managed to wreck fan-favorite Burt Myers during the 75-lap-long feature race.
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Myers’ following in Winston-Salem comes from his 11 Modified victories at the venue. As a result of the on-track contact between the two drivers, Myers was planted into the wall as the red flag came out. It was this opportunity that fans were waiting for, as a stationary Stenhouse Jr. on the track was greeted by a multitude of middle fingers.
Several from the NASCAR community also took note of the incident and its aftermath online, with reactions pouring in. Bubba Wallace’s spotter Freddie Kraft was surprised to to see someone other than the 23XI Racing driver 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 his official handle. “I hope he’s got armed security to get out of there tonight,” replied one fan. “Ricky deserves it,” opined another.
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!”
One follower also defended Bubba, while throwing Stenhouse Jr. under the bus and writing, “Unlike Bubba, Ricky actually deserves his.”
The rough-up between Stenhouse Jr. and Myers has resulted in the latter not being able to qualify for the 200-lap-long Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray, somewhat justifying the fraternity’s reaction.
Myers analyses contact with Stenhouse Jr.
“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,” summed up the 49-year-old veteran driver.
Further elaborating on whether a rivalry on-track could have boiled over as the race went on, Myers said, “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.”
The Winston-Salem crowd is 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 go down in the fans’ good books.
