Was NASCAR's fine of Kurt Busch right and proper?

Question

Here's my beef. I don't care who was involved, be it Kurt, Tony, Jeff, Jimmy, anyone. The crew member was put into eminent danger in an area considered to be "safe." Michael Waltrip got an equal fine for screwing with his engine for the Daytona 500.

NASCAR is telling it's fans that cheating and human life have equal value to them.

Please, tell me if you think the penalty was fair. If you don't agree with NASCAR, sound off on what should have been done?

Answer 1

I agree that NASCAR is sending the wrong message to drivers with the minuteness of this penalty. It's telling young drivers that they can lose their cool anytime, nearly kill someone, and just as long as "nothing too serious" happens, they'll be fine. Do I believe Kurt was aiming to hurt the crew member? No. I don't. In fact, I don't even think he saw him there...that's a prime example of "blind rage". As most know, this was not Kurt's first offense, it was his second major one. I just hope someone doesn't get killed when he fumbles the third time. Because NASCAR sure isn't taking steps to make sure he doesn't make a third big mistake.

Answer 2

No, NASCAR's penalty of Busch wasn't fair.

What should have happened is NASCAR should have given Tony a free pass in the garage at Dover to take care of things with Busch, Jimmy Spenser style.

Seriously, though, NASCAR should have not only parked Busch for two races, but also the entire #2 team and the primary sponsor. If the driver's actions had those kinds of ramifications, that would send an appropriate message to the competitors about sophomoric pit road behavior.

Answer 3

Kurt Busch should have been parked for the weekend. It would let other drivers/teams how important safety in the pits is to Nascar. As far as the fine and points, I think it was fine. Kurt is now 17th in points-he will have a tough time getting back in the top 12 without winning races.

Answer 4

NASCAR was totally wrong with what they did with Busch.
It was just a small slap on the hand.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had 100 point's taken from him and a fine of $100,000 and lost his crew chief Tony Eury for a total of 6 races. All for an illegal part.
And as you put it, Michael Waltrip received a fine and had points taken away, before the season actually started for an illegal compound found in his engine fluids.
Neither of them was putting anybodies crew member's in danger.
Busch did.
Busch should be suspended!
What Busch did isn't the same as what Michael Waltrip did, or Dale Jr. did.
What Busch did was endanger the life of another human being.
SUSPEND HIM for it!

Answer 5

Even Busch was surprised at how wimpy the penalty was.

Of all the people surprised that Kurt Busch wasn't suspended for his actions Monday at Dover, the driver of the No. 2 Dodge may top that list.

"Yeah, I did think I was probably going to get parked," Busch said Friday before Nextel Cup practice at Pocono Raceway. "But it's a blessing that NASCAR realized that nothing too serious did happen so we can move forward with this and get back to the normal roots of racing for us, which is to go and gain points on Sunday."

http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/06/08/kbusch.comments.penalty/index.html


"Nothing too serious" my butt. I wouldn't want to be Kurt on the track on Sunday.

Answer 6

Not even close. Kurt nearly hit a Pit Crew Member and that is totally unexcusable. It was an intentional act and there is no place for that kind of behavior in NASCAR.

NASCAR's failure to properly penalize this vicious act has opened the flood gates to even more aggresive and violent behavior by Drivers. We are going to see someone get hurt on Pit Row due to NASCAR's serious failure ot make a major example of Kurt.

I am also shocked that the City of Dover did not file charges of reckless endagerment against Kurt. What he did was intentional and criminal.

Answer 7

NO !! Kamikaze Kurt
Kurt nearly wiped out Stewart's Jackman, Jason Lee, who had to dive onto the hood of Stewart's car to escape serious injury from another one of Kurt's adolescent temper tantrums.
I knew that this will never happen, but I've got to say it anyway, it is time for NASCAR to step up and suspend Kurt Busch for a few races because of his pit road actions in Dover. When is our sport's sanctioning body going to exercise some control over the drivers who represent all of us???Here's some perspective for you... Tony Eury Jr. got suspended for six races and fined $100K for having the wrong support brackets mounted on his race car. Since Kurt did'nt receive at least equal punishment for intentionally putting a guy's life in danger then all of NASCAR's safety hype appears bogus.
HANS devices, soft walls, restrictor plates and larger cars have all been implemented to make driver safety number one, but what sort of NASCAR safety devices are in place to safeguard crew members from guys like Kurt Busch intentionally running us over???
Helmets and fire proof shoes? I don't think that's going to be enough. The only protection that crew members really have is NASCAR's responsibility to mandate a sense of control and a priority of safety from each driver while navigating pit road.
I guess now we see where NASCAR's safety priorities are once now THAT we are able to compare Kurt's "punishment" with what Tony Jr. received at Darlington.
Remember Kurt, your annual salary as a driver is five times what we make our entire careers... even if you can't show any respect for your sponsors, your fans or how you represent Roger Penske, try to grow up and show some professionalism and class as a driver.

Answer 8

I think it was fair, it was dangerous and you have to keep the guys over the wall as safe as you can. We all no it is dangerous to begin with, but we should not have some idiot intentionaly putting them in danger.

I also would have went a step further. I would have docked Peneske 200 owner points. You want the games to stop put it on the owners to hold the drivers responsible and take the baby sitting away from nascar.

Answer 9

It is surprising that he didn't get suspended, even Kurt himself is surprised. I was expecting a one race suspension, or if not that, a 200 point penalty and a $200,000 fine
But overall, at least he did get punished. That 100 point penalty could be costly in the long run, he is now down to 17th in points, 88 points out of the Chase, and if he misses it, that could be more money lost for him because of the money bonus from being in the Chase.

Answer 10

Yes and no.
First of all Nascar is like any other sport where the stars are given the free pass.In a way he deservas it he is a champ.
Secondly they may have put thereselves in his shoes,this isn't the first time Stewart has taken him out of a race he had an excellent chance of winning.He is human.He wasn't cheating or nothing he was just going to kick Stewarts butt ,if he could get a taker.You know the more I think about it he shouldn't have gotten that stiff a penalty.