Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has cooled off and no longer plans to wreck Kyle Busch at the Coca-Cola 600 today at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

But that doesn’t mean he and Busch are back on speaking terms.

Stenhouse said he spoke to Busch’s team owner Richard Childress — who had threatened to go after Stenhouse himself if he retaliated against his driver in NASCAR’s longest race of the season — and said they are fine.

Stenhouse threw a punch at Busch that started a melee following this past Sunday night’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway after he felt Busch wrecked him on purpose on the second lap of the $1 million exhibition race.

“It was the heat of moment,” Stenhouse said Saturday about punching Busch, which resulted in a record $75,000 fine from NASCAR. “You never want to wreck anybody on purpose, especially somewhere like Charlotte.”

Stenhouse said he had a “ton of respect” for what Busch has accomplished during his career, but added he’s now lost some of it “for wrecking us on purpose, especially in that moment. (But) I’m not going to waste my time trying to get him back.”

Busch said the two drivers haven’t spoken since the fight, and his focus is on winning.

“I don’t need to a fight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., I need a fight with the top three guys so I can start winning some races,” said Busch, who has yet to win a Cup points race.

Busch defended his actions on the track, saying he did nothing wrong.

GIBBS GRABS FIRST POLE >> Ty Gibbs is getting this qualifying thing down.

Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Toyota, won his first career Cup Series pole on Saturday, one day after winning the pole for the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Xfinity Series

Chase Elliott proved he still knows how to win an Xfinity Series race.

Running on fresh tires, Elliott held off Brandon Jones on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway to win his first race on the NASCAR’s lower circuit since 2016 and his sixth overall. It was a rare cameo for Elliott, who has only run four Xfinity races in the past five years.

“It was super special to win with the 17 on the car for the boss and Linda,” Elliott said of team owner Rick Hendrick. “It means a lot to all of us to be a part of it whenever this car runs, and I appreciate the boss for letting me do it. I’m glad to get him a win. It was a good day.”

It also gives Elliott some track knowledge heading into the Coca-Cola 600 today, the longest race on the Cup Series schedule.

Formula 1

Charles Leclerc took pole position for Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix and ended Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen’s bid for a record-extending ninth straight pole on Saturday.

Verstappen, who shares the F1 record with the late Ayrton Senna, starts today’s race from sixth place for Red Bull on arguably the most difficult track for overtaking in the series.