How did Kyle Busch NOT violate his probation?

June 5, 2011 20 Comments »

Richard Childress may have been wrong for punching Kyle Busch, but that doesn't excuse Busch for obviously provoking an incident while he was on probation. Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

I’m starting to think that TRG driver and MMA hobbyist Andy Lally could make a lot more money if he gave up his ride and set up a portable dojo in the drivers’ mobile home lot each week for lessons.

Everybody wants to fight these days, the latest being Richard Childress, who apparently delivered a headlock and a couple of haymakers to Kyle Busch after Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race.

NASCAR President Mike Helton said Sunday that Childress’ fate would come sooner than usual, which means that Childress is going to get drilled. And he should. Driver-on-driver fisticuffs is one thing, but an owner should be held to a higher standard. We’ve seen how embarrassing a team owner acting like a 5-year-old during an event can be thanks to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. If the Mavs haven’t licensed a sippy cup and rattle they should so Cuban can have something to do during timeouts.

But here’s why Childress lost his cool: Busch made light contact with Richard Childress Racing driver Joey Coulter after the checkered flag because he didn’t like the way Coulter raced him.

Normally, that’s nothing in NASCAR circles. But Busch is on probation because of an incident with a Richard Childress driver, Kevin Harvick, at Darlington. Everybody knows there’s already a lot of frayed nerves between Busch and the Childress camp.

Had Busch done what he did to Johnny Sauter or Timothy Peters — guys who had no connection to Childress whatsoever — then I could understand why NASCAR would choose to let this go. But Busch is on probation for doing something to a Childress driver. He should know that anything untoward he does to a Childress driver is fanning the flames.

When Busch hit Coulter, it was reasonable for Busch to think that somebody from RCR wasn’t just going to say, “No big deal. See ya next week.”

Hate to turn this into a kindergarden spat during recess, but in this case, RCR has every right to point to Busch and say, “He started it.”

For NASCAR to so quickly say that Busch didn’t violate his probation is to confirm Kyle Petty’s assertion Sunday on “NASCAR RaceDay” that probation in this sport is absolutely meaningless.

How in the world are you going to instill discipline that way?

  • britboy

    Childers seems to have forgotten that he once had a driver named Dale Earnhardt who wrecked many other peoples cars also. Guess it is different when it is you. As I said last week, everyone is mad at Shrub because he is kicking their butts in all three divisions, they are just mad. Granted Shrub is not Mr. Personality, but he drives a race car very well, well, just like Dale Earnhardt (Sr. that is). Also think Shrub being more like Dale Sr. than Jr. will ever be also rubs people the wrong way. If Shrub wasn’t around what would you hacks write about? Gas mileage races?

    • Clovis Fontaine

      We would write about Childers…whoever that may be…are you talking about Cale Sr. or Cale Jr….

  • JJS

    You cannot compare “Shrub” with Dale Earnhardt Sr. The two are not alike at all. “Shrub” does not have Sr’s driving skills or talent. He has talent but he certainly is not at that level.

    As far as “Shrub” dominating…. well he has superior equipment in the Trucks and Nationwide series. If he had the equipment that the regulars had in these series he wouldn’t bother running. Can’t fault him for that but it does not make him a better driver or the caliber of driver of some champion NASCAR drivers past and present.

    The probation IS a meaningless standard. The last two weeks Kyle has been irresponsible and NASCAR has done nothing. Joe Gibbs has done nothing. Should he be suspended? No! Should he be fined? Maybe… He certainly needs a good talking to by the powers that be yet its not happening (and it should).

    The guy is his own worst enemy. His attitude/actions are getting hard to defend and pitiful to watch regardless of his performance.

  • Steve

    Isn’t Kyle Busch a team owner in the truck series as well. So wouldn’t this be owner vs owner? Regardless of how you look at it, Kyle was trying to pick on a younger driver, and because he got beat he had to make himself look better by acting like the kid did something wrong. Kyle puts people in the wall left and right, but one person bumps him accidently or otherwise, he retaliates. Childress said enough is enough. Also, word is that Childress told him some time ago that if he messed with any more of his cars/trucks, it was gonna happen, and he followed up with it this weekend. Nascar created this problem by letting the punk get away with everything he does, so don’t expect them to all of a sudden come down on Kyle for this either. It amazes me how after everything Kyle has done on and off the track, that people can defend him for this too.

  • http://Jayski.com Earner

    britbat …Sure loves shrubby (thats clear) …Yea Richard for doing what had to be done..nascar (cowards) won’t …Dale Sr never was a punk this punk is …Try & make an effort to look at the facts & not rose coloured shrubby photos

  • Sue Johnson

    You are all wrong about the owner and driver bit. In the Truck series, KB is the owner also. So it really was owner against owner. Someone ought to give Richard a medal

  • http://Jayskis.com Larry

    This is absolutely one of the worst rulings Nascar has ever made. Kyle Busch has cause numerous wrecks tearing up many innocent drivers equipment and endangering other innocent drivers and pit crew members in all three series and for a many times repeat offender he got a $25,000 fine and a four race suspension for what happened at Darlington. And in addition to that, got the speeding ticket like a few days after Darlington and Nascar didn’t even penalize him even though he endangered the public. And, the fine christian man Gibbs hasn’t announced any penalty for that speeding either. And, Richard has already warned Kyle to leave his equipment alone and there was no reason for Kyle to bump that truck after the race. Kyle was on probation and it was because of an incident with a Childress Car so Busch should have went out of his way to avoid contact. Busch was not injured, had no black eyes, etc. so it’s obvious he wasn’t seriously injured from the punches Richard threw yet Kyle has just been lucky he hasn’t really hurt someone in all his wrecks he has caused. This has to go down as one of the worst mistakes Nascar has ever made along with the fine on Carl Long a year or two ago. Kyle Busch is one reason the seats are empty. Fans don’t like to see him win. I personally know a lot of fans who will quit watching the tv races if he’s winning. Boy, Toyota must really be putting money in Nascar’s Pockets. There is no way you could justifiy the penalty. $150,000 fine and over a year’s probabtion. Nascar is a complete joke and Mike Helton is a completed idiot. Kyle and Helton are two of a kind. This is just beyond reason or belief. I’ll bet Kyle has really got a Smirk on his face now. Anyone including Busch Fans who cannot see the travesty in this fine is just not looking hard enough. Nascar I’m sure made Richard release the apology he made or else he would be gone but you can bet money neither Richard or 95% of the other owners and drivers agrees with this fine and share their dislike for this spoiled rich kid brat who never had any raising and hasn’t got respect for anyone other than hisself. Kyle Busch is a disgrace to Nascar and Gibbs Racing. Funny how Roush and Hendrick dumped these Busch Boys for their antics but the good christian man keeps tolerating their antics. Very sad day for the sport.

    • kwp

      Boohoo. Everybody at RCR are a bunch of hypocrites. They think that they can bully people with no consequences. They were getting out of control. Crew chiefs, spotters,team owner, team mates constantly instigating one another about perceived wrongdoings committed against them by their opponents. I loved how joey c. raced kyle hard. Kyle raced him hard. If he was able to slid up in front of kyle cleanly that would have been great but he didn’t. He crossed the line ever so slightly by running him up the track. He got rubbed and sent a message that it wasn’t cool. His spotter should have held him off or he should have realized that his car wasn’t going to handle that move. But he didn’t. That’s fine. He is a rookie and he has got to learn somehow. Kyle’s job and everyone else’s is to help him learn. Childress should have said “Joey you did a good job but you can’t run people off the track. Both cars could have been wrecked and instead of finishing 5th or 6th we would of had a 20th place finish.” It’s so stupid how everyone picks and chooses wich incidents they want to focus on to make their individual point.Lot’s of stuff has happened In the past and everyone has done something wrong. Get over it. The pot can’t keep calling the kettle black.

  • Bob M.

    It was wrong but it was the right thing to do.
    If Nascar and Joe Gibbs won’t send a message to the kid about his juvenile behavior it was time somebody did. Bad thing about this is it also makes Joe Gibbs and his Christianity look bad.
    The kid can drive. But so can others. Recently the Gibbs boys haven’t been winning. Seems they have lost whatever their technical edge was, be it HP or aero, and their drivers have lost the so called magic. All the drivers at Cup level are good and 1/4-1/2 are great, so it comes down to equipment.
    Seems to be a trait with these Busch boys. Remember when Kurt left Rousch and what Jack said? Kurt seems to have matured some since then. And don’t forget that the kid was forced out at HM basically because of behavior. Will the kid mature with time? Drivers aren’t expected to be perfect but they are expected to be above the bottom of the barrel.
    Just one other comment. Was in a conversation with customer service with a company that had sponsored Kyle for one race. Expressed the idea that Kyle wasn’t really the kind of person that should be associated with their product. The rep acknowledged there were other complaints and noted, in a reasonable mannner, that he is good, . BUT that sponsor has not been on a Gibbs car since, don’t recall seeing it on any cars since then. So some sponsors do listen.
    Thank you Richard Childress for taking the actions necessary to maintain integrity in NASCAR.

  • MAL

    Lets see this is the same owner that had a driver that was just attempting to rattle someones cage (two years in a row) and caused how many other owners to have to leave NASCAR because they could not afford to keep replacing cars. It is time for RCR and Earnhardt nation to wake up from their dream world. I am a long time NASCAR fan and I can tell you I have stopped watching races because I am sick of Earnhardt fans thinking that JR is half the driver his dad was. Everything I read JR is one heck of a nice guy but he is not his dad and to tell you the truth if he did not have the name he has he would not be driving in the sprint series. I do not like Kyle any better but so far what has happened this year has been all Harvick and Childress, Kyle has actually been behaving himself this year. As for the speeding incident, sorry people it did not happen at work and yes it was a very stupid thing to do. He has access to some tracks that he could have opened the car up on but you tell me if someone let you test drive a car like this you would not be tempted to do the same thing?

    • kwp

      Who are you referring to that had to leave nascar?

  • Schlong

    Well said “Larry”. Kryle is the owner of his truck, so it was owner vs owner and Childress did not give an apology, as well he shouldn’t.

  • Pat388

    I agree with Larry. Nascar’s handling of the Childress/Busch episode was the worst decision they have made in the history of Nascar. In a time when the attendance is dropping and TV ratings are down (and it is not just the economy) maybe the number 1 factor is that the fans are sick and tired of Kyle getting free reign to do what ever he pleases and then smirking about it. If he is Nascar’s “poster boy” you can can see how far their values have sunk. I guess his reckless ways will go unchecked until he kills or seriously harms someone. Of course by then Nascar will have lost thousands of fans as well as the little respect they have left. And yes Kyle is also an owner, and shouldn’t an owner be put on probation and fined if he does damage to some drivers vehicle? There is many ways to look at this whole thing but as usual Nascar has blinders on when it comes to KB. I have not lost any respect for Richard Childress. I respect him more because he at least is a man of his word and he did what many would like to do to Kyle. I hope Richard holds his head high and sticks to his principals. He has made millions for Nascar but now they must think the grass is greener somewhere else. They are too dumb to realize that very few have any respect what so ever for any of them that are now running Nascar. It’s a sad day when us old fans are embarressed to say that we like racing, or racing as it used to be anyway.

  • http://Jayskis.com Larry

    Bottom line folks, this even would never have happpened, repeat “would never have happened” if not for a driver/owner who was on probation for an incident with Richard’s Car/Driver bumping Richard’s Truck after the race. Yet, even though Kyle was on probation he deliberately bumped Richard’s Truck after the race and Nascar says Kyle was not at fault? How dumb is that and how in the world Nascar could come up with that decision I’ll never know. And, it’s not hearsay. They have showed the replay of Kyle hitting Richard’s Truck numerous times since it occurred so we have actually proof of the event so how is Kyle not at least partly to blame for what happened and since he is on probation should have been penalilze more? Boy, Nascar has really screwed this one up and how in the world they could come to the conclusion that Kyle was innocent is beyond me because this was clearly a case of Kyle provoking someone. Just another black eye for Nascar and Mike Helton.

    • kwp

      Have you never seen a cool down rub before? People are going to question your credibility and not give any attention to your extreme indignation over the incident. A little rub is not provocation. He got a donut on the side of his truck. He would of already had that donut there if kyle didn’t back off and let him go around him when he ran him up the track. There is a good chance he would of had far greater damage if Kyle continued to race him. He was given the gift of just a donut.

  • olddirttracker

    in my nonexpert opinion the patients are running the asylum. I am not a nascar basher and belive they run a pretty darn good show. HOWEVER!!!! Shrub is a disgrace to the sport of auto racing and regardless of the vast talent that he has, he needs to be banned from any nascar competition for a year and let him contemplate his future without nascar. He has no class, no remorse and doesnt believe he should be held to the same standards on and off the race track as his peers. hopefully the speeding fiasco in North Carolina may give him a little vacation time from racing. It really astounds me that a principled man like Joe Gibbs continues to put up with his antics. Nascar is about the money and is never going to suspend Kyle . Richard Childress while not making the best decision of his life will most likely not have to worry about Kyle tearing up any more of his cars, something about an old school ass whipping gets the point across especially to a little crybaby whimp sissy.
    Just my humble opinion: Olddirttracker off

  • http://Jayskis.com Larry

    KWP, have you not seen the bump by Kyle after the race? As I stated, this was more than a donut. Look at the replay somewhere on the internet and look how loose the Chidress Truck got. I can assure you I am not a Nascar Driver but I could have put a donut on Richards Truck without almost wrecking him. Kyle’s bump was retaliation for the kid racing Kyle the way that Kyle himself races everyone else. The problem is Kyle can bump and wreck someone but you had better not do that to him. I still stand by my opinion, this event was caused by Kyle bumping Richard’s Truck and he basically got off scot free even though he was the cause of it.

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