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The often volatile Busch was barred from driving in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races in Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend, a rare step taken by NASCAR after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. during a caution in the Truck Series race.
NASCAR president Mike Helton announced the decision Saturday after a meeting with Busch and Joe Gibbs, his Sprint Cup and Nationwide car owner.
“The responsibility that over the past two or three seasons we’ve given back to the drivers came, I think, with a very clear understanding that there could be a line that got crossed,” Helton said. “And as annoying as the comments that I’ve made personally in the past about ‘We’ll know it when we see it’ might have been, we saw it last night.”
Busch is the first driver since Robby Gordon in August 2007 to be taken out of a Cup race for actions in another NASCAR race the same weekend. Kevin Harvick, the owner of Hornaday’s truck, was kept out of the Cup race at Martinsville, Va., in 2002 after an incident in a truck race there the previous day.
“This is a tough situation for us and basically what we’re trying to do is go through it the right way,” Gibbs said.
Michael McDowell will take over in today’s race for Busch, who was seventh in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings.
Denny Hamlin, another Gibbs driver, took over Busch’s Nationwide seat Saturday.
Helton didn’t rule out more penalties for Busch after the weekend, but said not letting him race shows how serious NASCAR felt about what happened Friday night.
“The rarity of those times that we’d make a step like this speak to the uniqueness and the severity of the topic,” Helton said.
BAYNE WINS FIRST
Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne earned his first career Nationwide victory after he passed dominating teammate Carl Edwards following a restart with seven laps remaining Saturday at Texas.
Edwards, the Sprint Cup points leader, led 157 of 200 laps at the 11/2-mile, high-banked track. He was still in front when Jason Leffler hit the wall and brought out the final caution. Bayne was then fourth.
After helping push Edwards forward on the restart, Bayne was able to get around Hamlin, who then passed Edwards and finished second while filling in for Kyle Busch.
Bayne led only the final six laps, the fewest laps led for a Nationwide winner at Texas, and won with an average speed of 143.464 mph.
TODAY’S RACE
NASCAR Sprint Cup Texas 500, noon, ESPN, 1380-AM
CHASE STANDINGS
After seven of 10 races:
1. Carl Edwards2,273
2. Tony Stewart2,265
3. Kevin Harvick2,252
4. Brad Keselowski2,246
5. Matt Kenseth2,237
6. Jimmie Johnson2,230
7. Kyle Busch2,216
8. Kurt Busch2,215
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.2,200
10. Jeff Gordon2,197
11. Denny Hamlin2,193
12. Ryan Newman2,184
