NASCAR penalizes, fines Busch

By Jim Peltz

June 9, 2007 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Kurt Busch’s bid to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup playoff took a blow Friday when NASCAR hit him with a major penalty, docking him 100 championship points and fining Busch $100,000 for reckless driving and endangering a pit-crew member at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Busch apologized and said he would not appeal the penalty.

The incident occurred after Busch, who drives the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing South, and Tony Stewart’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet collided during Monday’s race. Both are former series champions.

As Stewart’s team checked his car’s damage on pit road, Busch abruptly pulled next to Stewart and nearly sideswiped his car, forcing crew member Jason Lee to jump onto the hood of Stewart’s Chevy.

NASCAR promptly parked Busch’s car for the day -- he finished 42nd -- and in its latest action the sanctioning body also put him on probation for the rest of the year. NASCAR also stripped 100 championship owner points from his car owner, Roger Penske.

Busch’s lost driver points could be the most painful penalty as he tries to make the Chase, stock car racing’s 10-race playoff at season’s end that determines the series title winner. The top 12 drivers in points after the season’s first 26 races qualify for the Chase.

Busch, 28, had been 11th in points after Dover, but the penalty drops him into a tie for 17th with Greg Biffle of Roush Fenway Racing. “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.

Before qualifying Friday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, site of Sunday’s Pocono 500, Busch told reporters that the penalty was “a bit surprising” but that “safety on pit road can’t be compromised.”

Other drivers said they understood NASCAR’s action.

“We all have short tempers at times, we all get mad about things at times, but you’ve really got to police pit road,” said Matt Kenseth, another former Cup champion at Roush Fenway.

Busch’s emotions have earned him the ire of some drivers and fans since he joined the Cup series full-time in 2001, originally with what was then Roush Racing. The Las Vegas native moved to Penske’s team in 2006, and he hasn’t won a race in more than a year.

After the Dover race, Stewart said of Busch: “It’s about racing people with respect, and he hasn’t done that with anybody for a year. There’s only a couple of bad apples out there and he’s one of them.”

Times wire services contributed to this report.

james.peltz@latimes.com

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Points standings

1. Jeff Gordon 2,059

2. Jimmie Johnson 1,907

3. Matt Kenseth 1,869

4. Denny Hamlin 1,842

5. Jeff Burton 1,704

6. Carl Edwards 1,584

7. Tony Stewart 1,573

8. Clint Bowyer 1,525