Thoughts On The Kurt Busch Penalty

A few thoughts -- if I may -- on Kurt Busch's recent pitroad incident with Tony Stewart, now that the tumult has been replaced by a new, earth-shaking story du jour; the signing of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by Hendrick Motorsports.

In this writer's humble opinion, the whole "what could have happened" argument is based on pure fantasy, and nothing more. True, Kurt Busch could have hit Stewart's jackman, Jason Lee. He could have injured him, possibly seriously. He could have even killed him, God forbid. But then again, he could have flipped over the pit wall and killed 500 innocent bystanders, including a troop of Girl Scouts.

None of that happened.

Busch intentionally hit Stewart's car (a serious violation in itself), injuring nobody. His penalty reflected the seriousness of the act, without crossing over into speculation and wild conjecture. Based on the prevailing "could have" logic, every driver who speeds on pit road should be suspended for a race, because he could have hit and killed someone.

Obviously, NASCAR has to deal with the facts, not some hysterical account of what could have happened, but didn't.