‘Nothing building’ between McDowell, Stenhouse after hauler meeting at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. emerged from the NASCAR Cup Series hauler after a Saturday morning at-track consultation with officials, saying that they were ready to move past their dispute. The two Cup Series veterans shared a moderated meeting with competition directors Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, six days after their on-track get-together in last weekend's contest at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The pair will be back at it Sunday in the Freeway Insurance 500 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the 1-mile track. RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Phoenix "It went fine. I mean, Ricky and I talked after the race, and obviously we disagreed on the track, but afterwards, we figured it out," McDowell told NASCAR.com. "So nothing's building between Ricky and I. And then, as far as NASCAR, they just don't want us running into each other under caution and spinning each other out. So obviously they weren't happy about it happening under caution there. So yeah, but back to normal today." Their late-race disagreement over running room last Sunday at Charlotte escalated into a post-race bumping duel during the cool-down lap, with Stenhouse's No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet ramming McDowell's Spire Motorsports No. 71 Chevy on the backstretch. McDowell reacted to those side-door impacts by bumping back, first in the rear bumper and then in the left-rear fender, sending Stenhouse spinning. While McDowell sat in his car on pit road, the two had a pointed but largely civil post-race conversation that started with Stenhouse asking: "Why do you race like that all the time?" In a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Stenhouse indicated a willingness to move on from the altercation -- a sentiment he reiterated after meeting with officials. "It's fine. I mean, I think I got aggressive with him after the race. He did the same, and we talked it out," Stenhouse told NASCAR.com. "I thought it was fine and settled, and then (NASCAR officials) asked me to come in there last night. Yeah, it's all good." This story will be updated.