Late in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. were locked in a heated battle on-track for a top-20 finishing position. In the battle, McDowell would collide with the outside wall while executing a pass on Stenhouse for the position.
In the end, McDowell would record a 19th-place finish in Sunday’s race while Stenhouse would fade to a 23rd-place finish.
But the bad blood didn’t end with the late-race battle. The beef between the two spewed over into the cooldown lap as the drivers were working their way back to pit road at the end of the 267-lap contest.
Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. started their beef during the race, and continued it after the race was over on the cool-down lap. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/h6trP0QVGV
— Toby Christie (@TobyChristie) October 11, 2026
Heading into Turn 3 on the cooldown lap, Stenhouse swerved right into the front left corner of McDowell’s No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. A move that didn’t sit well with McDowell, who immediately returned the favor.
McDowell would gas up his car, and would collide with the rear bumper of Stenhouse’s No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet, and wouldn’t stop shoving Stenhouse’s car until the driver of the No. 47 machine lost control, and spun out in the high-banked turn at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway.
After the race, Stenhouse strolled down pit road and poked his head inside of McDowell’s driver-side window, where the two would have a brief conversation, likely about the weather (not really).
Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. talked after the race. It didn't seem too heated. I checked in with Stenhouse (off-camera) and he said he hit McDowell so McDowell hit him back and not a big deal. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/wEWlVvVvDE
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 11, 2026
According to Bob Pockrass, who spoke to McDowell, Stenhouse indicated to him that the scuffle on track with McDowell at the end of Sunday’s race wasn’t a big deal.
