Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict

Whatever tension existed between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell ended as quickly as it began on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After the race, Stenhouse drove up to McDowell during the cool down lap to trade paint before coming down to pit road. McDowell gave it right back and ultimately spun Stenhouse in Turn 4.

There was a relatively cordial conversation on pit road and that was it. NASCAR chose this week to not penalize either individual.

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Stenhouse appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday to provide insight on what led to the conflict.

“Him and I were getting frustrated all race long just from where we were pitted, not being able to pick based on a qualifying order,” said Stenhouse. “I feel like we both ended up getting a bad pit box. We both kept getting blocked in, and so I think our races were frustrating in general.

“And then, I actually had some good runs going there towards the end. I just felt like he was blocking me in every single lane that I went. He was waiting for me to make a move. And then eventually, I got a run, and he put me in the grass down the front stretch. So, I was just letting him know my displeasure with that. The right side of my car was already scuffed. I wasn’t worried about scuffing it anymore.

“That’s where that came from. And yeah, I just wanted to have a conversation with him afterwards.”

While they did not entirely agree with each other, Stenhouse said he got one apology, and more or less got on the same page.

“He said he was trying to let me go around the outside, and we still disagreed on that,” Stenhouse said. “But anyway, he knows where I stood. And as I said, he sort of at least apologized some for that. But like I’ve been on the short end of his stick a couple of times.

“We got crashed at Michigan running really well earlier this season on the front straightaway there that felt like it could have been avoided. So, it kind of just pulled up there.

“Him and I were on the same kickball team Thursday night, had no issues. So, you know, I had the conversation. We’ll move on. No problem.”

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