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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to honor Kyle Busch with paint scheme at Nashville

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. once punched Kyle Busch at the 2024 NASCAR All-Star race after a heated argument. This weekend, Busch’s former rival will pay tribute to him when NASCAR makes an emotional return to Nashville.

Stenhouse is slated to race in the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday, May 31 with a paint scheme once used by Busch, who died suddenly on May 21 from complications caused by pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. Stenhouse’s No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet for Hyak Motorsports will have paint inspired by the car Busch once drove in NASCAR’s O’Reilly Autoparts Series when he was sponsored by the energy drink a decade ago.

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“For a long time we chased him, the bar has always genuinely been him. Thank you @NosEnergyDrink @HYAKMotorsports @StenhouseJr and all those involved, we get to honor him,” Stenhouse’s crew chief, Mike Kelley, wrote on social media. “It’s been an emotional week, a challenging time in our sport. KFB Thank you for making a generation of people better by challenging us!”

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See the most heartfelt moments with Kyle Busch and his family.

Kyle Busch’s career left a lasting mark on NASCAR, with achievements and moments that defined his time in the sport.

Above, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with daughter, Lennix Busch son, Brexton Busch and wife, Samantha Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on Feb. 21, 2026, in Hampton, Georgia.

(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)

OPINION: Kyle Busch embraced being ‘Rowdy’ — and NASCAR needed him

Stenhouse, 38, won the 2023 Daytona 500 and owns four career wins on the NASCAR Cup Series. He’s currently 26th in this year’s driver standings with just one top-5 finish.

Stenhouse was fined $75,000 by NASCAR for the incident two years ago with Busch at the All-Star race, which escalated into a skirmish between the two drivers’ teams. Busch made contact with Stenhouse’s car and forced him from the race after just two laps.

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Stenhouse and Busch told NASCAR.com last year they had spoken and sorted out their issues since the scuffle. Stenhouse was among those in the motorsports community mourning Busch’s death last week.

“I’ve raced against Kyle for a long time, and anyone who’s lined up next to him knows exactly what made him special, he gave you everything he had, every single lap, and he made all of us better for it,” Stenhouse wrote in a social media post.

Busch was a two-time NASCAR Cup series champion and won 62 races overall – ranked ninth all time – on the top stock car circuit. He also had a record 102 victories in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, including 22 while racing in a car sponsored by NOS Energy, and 69 wins on the Craftsman Truck Series – also a record.

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Last week’s Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500, just a few days after Busch’s shocking death, featured several tributes to the driver, and more are anticipated in Nashville this weekend as the 2026 NASCAR season continues.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR Nashville: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. paint scheme Kyle Busch tribute

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