Kurt Busch has shown his true colors again and this time he almost injured an innocent participant in what can only be described as an extreme case of racing road rage. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite-sponsored car almost hit a pit crew member in a temper-tantrum following a crash involving Busch and Tony Stewart at Dover.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Kurt Busch penalized due to Dover pit-road infraction
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR announced Friday that Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Dodge in the Nextel Cup Series, has been penalized 100 championship driver points, fined $100,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2007, for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing — reckless driving; endangering a crew member on pit road) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book.
Car owner Roger Penske has also been penalized with the loss of 100 championship owner points due to his driver’s infraction.
“I regret the incident that occurred at Dover and apologize to NASCAR, my sponsors, the fans, my Penske Racing team and Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said in a statement. “I understand that safety is crucial to the sport and I accept the points penalty, fine and probation that NASCAR has imposed on me.”
The penalty drops Busch from 11th in the championship standings to a tie with Bobby Labonte for 18th at 720 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.
The violation occurred on pit road during the race at Dover International Speedway on June 4. (NASCAR PR, courtesy of Heather)
… and now, back to Capt. Herb’s article …
The high-speed soap opera began with some fender rubbing and a crash on the track. Stewart beat Busch back to the pits and crew members had begun to repair the No. 20 when Busch slammed into the side of Stewart’s parked car. One of Stewart’s pit crew members had to jump out the way to keep from being pinned between the two cars.
NASCAR officials immediately ordered Kurt Busch to park his crashed car, which already had heavy damage due to the on-track crash. The official race report from NASCAR listed “aggressive” as the status of Busch’s 42nd-place finish.
A Sheriff’s deputy in my county who viewed a tape of the incident at Dover said charges would have been filed if a similar incident had occurred in the parking lot of a business or in the public highway where we live. Aggravated assault, reckless driving and aggressive driving would have been among the citations issued to one of us regular people if we did something along the lines of Busch’s bad behavior.
Stewart lost almost 75 laps making repairs to his car after the wrecks on the track and on pit row. The No. 20 team had to settle for 40th-place pay and he dropped to seventh in the point standings.
Busch, who replaced Rusty Wallace as driver of the No. 2 Dodge last year, immediately apologized for the pit road incident and began offering his sympathy to the family of Bill France Jr. The announcement of France’s death had been made during the race.
The Dover incident is not the first time Busch has displayed “aggressive” behavior behind the wheel, but at least this time he wasn’t out driving on the public roadway. Busch was charged with reckless driving on the public roadways in 2005 for an incident near Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona.
The number of Kurt Busch fans dwindled after an incident with Jimmy Spencer in 2003. Spencer was still an active driver when he was suspended for a race by NASCAR for punching Busch. In-car video tapes would later show Busch as the agitator in the incident and he has been greeted with loud boos from fans that remember the incident.
The status of the situation with Busch is still pending. Some NASCAR know-it-alls have predicted additional penalties will come and they predict Busch might face a suspension for the pit road encounter.
Pocono: Pocono Raceway offers NASCAR drivers a unique challenge for this weekend’s race. The Pennsylvania speedway is the only racing arena that has only three turns and that makes it NASCAR’s only triangle track.
The mountains of Pocono serve as the boundaries for the 2.5-mile speedway that has hosted events since 1974.
Pocono Raceway is home of the longest straightaway among the tracks NASCAR competes on. The Long Pond frontstretch measures in at 3,740 feet, which allows for some of the fastest speeds drivers experience behind the wheels of their machines. The three turns are banked between six and 14 degrees.
Bill Elliott is the ruler at the track. He holds the record for most wins and most poles at the track. Elliott claimed five Winston Cup wins at Pocono between 1985 and 2002. He also has five poles at the speedway and won from the pole position three times.
Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett have three wins each there. Gordon’s first-place runs have been in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Labonte won both races in 1999 and another in 2001. Jarrett’s victories were between 1995 and 2002.
The two-timers list includes two sweepers. Denny Hamlin won both Pocono races last year and Jimmie Johnson won both of the 2004 races. Jeremy Mayfield (1998 and 2000) has a pair of Pocono wins.
The one-time winners at the speedway are Kurt Busch (2005), Carl Edwards (2005), Ryan Newman (2003), Tony Stewart (2003), Ricky Rudd (2001) and Kyle Petty (1993).
The top-five finishers of last year’s June event at Pocono were Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth. Hamlin led 83 of the 200 laps and collected the bonus points for leading the most laps of the race.
There were 25 lead changes between 13 drivers. The other drivers leading more than five laps were Greg Biffle (34), Kurt Busch (31), Brian Vickers (19), Jeff Burton (11), Clint Bowyer (8) and Tony Stewart (6).
There were seven caution flag incidents and the race took just under three hours and 48 minutes to complete.
Denny Hamlin won both events from the pole position last year.
Georgia Boys: Unadilla’s David Ragan claimed the best finish for the Georgia drivers in the Nextel Cup race at Dover. Ragan finished 14th and advanced to 26th position in the point standings. Ragan was the highest finishing rookie driver in the event.
David started seventh and finished 32nd in the Busch Series race at Dover. He was out of the race early due to a crash that required a red flag for clean up on lap 125.
Reed Sorenson, of Peachtree City, started 28th and finished 27th in the Dover Nextel event. Sorenson is ranked 25th on the Nextel Cup point chart.
Reed finished 27th in the Busch Series race at Dover. He was out of the race early due to a crash.
Bill Elliott started 14th and finished 35th in the Nextel Cup race. It was his second race of the 2007 season with the Wood Brothers No. 21 team.
The only Georgia driver in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover was out of the race on the first lap. Bill Lester got caught up in a multi-truck crash at the start of the event. The Cobb County driver finished 35th and is ranked 21st on the truck point chart.
Saturday’s Allan Vigil Ford 120 will air from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Newstalk 750 WSB Radio and www.wsbradio.com. For more race information visit our Fastcar Newsdesk at www.captainherb.net.
Harvick was made to sit out a race or two if I remember correctly. Kurt Busch’s pit road actions were uncalled for. Looking at the tape of the crash, it was hard racing and he pulled up in front of Tony Stewart without having enough room, Tony went up the track some and then bang. It was as they say, one of those racing things. Kurt Busch will never learn and yes, he should be charged legally for that pit road outrage. Now I could see if they parked the cars and got out and had a good old fashioned fight, so be it. One on one and no penalties should be issued for something like that. God Bless those pit crew members, they put their lives in the hands of all the drivers each and every week. Busch’s penalties should be stiff.
If they hit him with a 100 point penalty (this season, that has been the answer for everything — jet fuel in the car, 100 points; wrong wing mounts, 100 points; not washing your hands after dinner, 100 points), that is going to mean a gigantic shake up in the top 12.
Kurt the Jerk… Whatever. While what Kurt pulled on pit road was reckless and boneheaded, I’m sick of you guys giving Tony the primadonna a free pass. He is a class-A putz who wrecks anyone who doesn’t kiss his fanny. Remember Matt Kennseth, and cousin Carl last year? I wish Carl had pummeled him……
What kind of a stupid mis-written article is this? You begin with the statement that Kurt “the jerk” gets the Boot from Nascar and then tell us that “The status of the situation with Busch is still pending.”??? WTF?? Where’s the BOOT!?
What you did was write an article just to have something to do I guess. You told us nothing we didn’t already know. When you get some ACTUAL news try again.
NASCAR should dock Kurt 100 points, park him for at least one race, and require he complete a course in anger management.
I have to agree with Liz Allison (Davey’s wife)….Kurt Busch is the biggest jerk in NASCAR.
What wreck on Pit Road? I am not excusing what Busch did on pit road, but “Emory” mentions a wreck on pit road and I saw no wreck on pit road.
Editor’s note: Glenn, we published a photo from http://www.ThatsRacin.com in the Stock Car Gazette where it showed Kurt right up against Tony in the pits. We believe that’s the “wreck” mentioned in the article, although Kurt says his car was under control the entire time on pit road.
I believe that it is about time that NASCA start giving the EGO STRONG babies just what they deserve. Park them for a season to put a dent in their money filled wallets and send a message that the child -like attitudes will not be overlooked any longer. Pwerhaps the sponsers should share some of the punishment. It is partly them that feed the OVER GROWN EGOS that are the major part of the problem to begin with….
Two points here: 1. I think that the penalty and the probation are fair. I would even go a step further and make the next four races “zero tolerance” in addition to the regular probation. What Kurt did on pit road was unconscionable. HOWEVER 2. I would also have docked Stewart 25 points for “careless” driving on the track. That wreck did not have to happen. It was just Stewart doing what he hates about other drivers. Driving like a jerk. I normally feel that it is up to the “passer” to ensure that his car is completely around the one being passed. Kurt was 99.9% of the way around and anyone else would have let him in. Not Tony Boy, heck no, he kept his leg in it and pit Kurt the Jerk into the wreck cycle and lucky enough it got Tony too. Too often drivers who trigger wrecks never get caught up in it themselves. Tony’s front bumper hit the corner of Busch’s bumper . . . not the quarter panel, not the fender but the bumper. Tony knew what he was doing. In Kurt the Jerk’s defense, the COT’s have that darned wing that makes it hard to see out the back. Tony could obviously see Kurt. As far as the original article, just one sided nonsense.
Dave in Indy is absolutely right.
While not justifying what Busch did, Stewart has gotten away with some serious nonsense here.
The penalty is exactly what I predicted it would be. The impact on the entire chase, is huge. Busch is dropped back to a tie for 18th. Martin is up to 11th. The fight for those last couple of chase spots is going to be intense going into Richmond.
My full posting is here: http://ccrnascar.blogspot.com/2007/06/nascar-nextel-cup-standings-friday.html
I suppose in keeping with Nascar’s recent policies, 100 points and $100,000 is about the norm. Dale Jr. recently got the same fine for unapproved wing supports, even though they were replaced before the actual race started. Jr. also lost his crew chief for 6 races.
Kurt has a history of letting his temper get the best of him. I thought he had matured a little over the last few years, but I guess he showed that the temper lies just beneath the surface of a very calm exterior. 100 points could be huge, and probation means that Nascar could take more extreme actions for even lesser transgressions later this season.
I really thought Kurt the Squirt would be suspended for one race, but I guess Nascar had quite a bit on its plate this week. Maybe he got a break like medieval crooks did when the old king died. Something really should be done about “the Mixmaster”, Tony Stewart. It seems like there’s been a lot of incidents in his vicinity so far this year (and in the past, of course). He’s the “Mixmaster” because he sure stirs stuff up. I’ve got another name for him, but I like to post clean on this forum. Look for high-horsepower Hendrick rides to win again this weekend, because that’s what this track demands.
They should have parked him for at least one race in addition to the fine/points penalty. Tony’s no angel, but drivers must always leave pit road out of it.