Wrecky Spinhouse is the nickname NASCAR fans have coined for Hyak Motorsports driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. As the name suggests, for some reason or another, he sparks unnecessary crashes and wrecks, much to the dismay of the fans supporting their favorite drivers. Remember when NASCAR returned to racing at Darlington Raceway during the COVID-19 pandemic, he spun his race car on the very first lap.

Then there is last year’s All-Star race, where for no reason he locked horns with Kyle Busch, again at the start of the race that ultimately ended with him into the wall. Now, Stenhouse Jr. is known for his aggression on the racetrack, but it seems like this trait was a part of racing right from the beginning. While the above-mentioned wrecks weren’t egregious or detrimental to his rivals, the same cannot be said for the incident that happened during his Xfinity debut at Nashville Superspeedway.

With just nine laps left in the Pepsi300 at Nashville Superspeedway, the race took an unexpected turn. Stenhouse Jr., the debutante, spun on the frontstretch, provoking a multi-car crash that engulfed Joe Nemechek’s #87 Chevy. At first, the ESPN camera crew and the broadcasters were unable to get a view of the crash, but once the replay hit the screens, they knew that Nemechek had a close call after being launched into the air by Ricky Stenhouse, who himself seemed to have lost control over his race car. Nemechek made a hard contact with #16, flipped his car and landed back on all four wheels.. It was a wild crash.

Things turned out more interesting afterwards. Nemechek, defying all barriers, kept his car engine running. He powered his Chevy back on all wheels and sped down the track as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately, NASCAR had to intervene and drop the red flag, citing safety concerns due to damage sustained to his car. On the other hand, Stenhouse settled for a 23rd-place finish.

Feb 19, 2023; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr (47) leads Joey Logano (22) on the last lap as Kyle Larson (5) crashes with Travis Pastrana (67) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

This crash happened with just 9 laps left in the race, and once the race was green it again, it was teen star Joey Logano who bagged his first win of the season. The 18-year-old was able to hold off Kyle Busch, leading the final 10 laps of the race and beating him off to the finish line by 0.487 seconds. Interestingly, back then, Logano was seen as the young and upcoming star who would lead the line for Joe Gibbs Racing. But he would jump ships to Team Penske and go on to win multiple championships.

Interestingly, Logano, who won the race back in 2009 at Nashville, would end up on the receiving end of the crash sparked by Stenhosue Jr. during this year’s Daytona 500.