NASCAR Allows Busch to Escape

Nearly a week has passed since yet another on-track incident involving Kurt Busch. In previous incidents, Busch took out his anger and frustration on fellow drivers, but his most recent incident crossed the line.

He crossed the line so far he is lucky to even be driving in this week’s Pocono 500.

When Busch came within inches of striking Tony Stewart crew member Jason Lee, he crossed into unprecedented waters.

Busch has grown into the reputation of NASCAR’s new “bad boy” due to on-track encounters with such drivers as Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Mr. Excitement Jimmy Spencer, just to name a few.

But, this was the first time Busch ever went after a crew member.

NASCAR had a perfect opportunity to lay down the law and enforce a championship-ending punishment. Instead, they came out and said – not in a direct manner – that endangering the life of a crew member is equal to cheating.

NASCAR penalized drivers and crew chiefs for failed post-qualifying inspections. Drivers were deducted points and were fined and their crew chiefs were suspended from a number of races.

So, when a “professional” driver endangers the life of a fellow professional and receives a similar penalty, where does NASCAR draw the line?

Kurt Busch should have been suspended for a minimum of five races and docked 500 points.

Instead, Busch was fined $100,000 and docked a mere 100 championship points. He dropped from 12th to 17th in the championship standings, but there is still enough time for him to catch up to the pack. If he was docked 500 points and missed a handful of races, there is no way he could qualify for the chase.

Would a 500 point deduction and five race suspension been too harsh? Probably, but it would have taught Busch a severe lesson.

Busch has been known to bump fellow drivers out of the way without care or concern for their safety, and that is why he needed more than a slap on the wrist this time.

Busch is the 2004 Nextel Cup champion. He has five career poles and 93 top-10 finishes to go along with his 15 career victories. To put it simple, Busch is not hurting for money.
He can afford a $100,000 fine without a problem. NASCAR could have gone as far as to fine him $1 million. But, for whatever reason, they did not.

To put it simple, NASCAR chickened out.

NASCAR is in real trouble. They are not far removed from Tony Stewart’s accusation that NASCAR is just like professional wrestling. With their slight punishments, they are almost encouraging drivers such as Busch to continue with their antics.

NASCAR needs to put their foot down in a more emphatic manner before a driver – or even worse, a crew member – has to suffer the ultimate sacrifice.