Robby Gordon was left with just a shell of a car following his run-in Sunday with Michael Waltrip Credit: Autostock

Last Lap: Police squad

Is it up to NASCAR or its drivers to tend to on-track misconduct?

Rarely am I at a total loss for words. Last evening, following the announcement that NASCAR had chosen not to sit Robby Gordon and Kasey Kahne even for a single race, was one such instance.

This decision is incomprehensible. Gordon should sit three races, Kahne one. Just my opinion, of course. Instead, both were docked points and levied monetary fines.

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As if it matters. Neither is in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Neither can so much as sniff 11th place. Gordon is fighting for his top-35 life, so losing 50 points seemingly hurts. Imagine if he missed three races.

Both drivers made rash retaliatory decisions in the Sylvania 300 and flat got away with it.

Kahne, looking to repay Kyle Busch for wrecking him, puttered around on the bottom of the track until Busch came by under caution, then veered 90-degrees right, intersecting Busch's path and nearly collecting championship Chaser Jimmie Johnson.

Gordon's fiasco was even worse. Following a run-in with Michael Waltrip, Gordon, now seated in a mangled pile of smoldering wreckage, threw his car in reverse and slammed the throttle, hoping to back into Waltrip as he coursed by under caution.

In the process he nearly took out points leader Tony Stewart. As the leaders passed by on the following lap, Gordon exited the car and chucked his helmet at Waltrip's car. All this while unguarded cleanup and safety personnel were in his midst on the racetrack.

Then he cursed on national television.

It makes for good TV, sure. I was captivated by every last second of it.

But how's Kevin Harvick supposed to feel? Back in 2002 Harvick was made to sit out one race after a series of run-ins culminated with what NASCAR considered an intentional spin of Coy Gibbs in a Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville.

Granted, Harvick was already on probation and deserved to sit. But there were no Cup Series implications for Harvick's actions.

Gordon and Kahne, meanwhile, blatantly retaliated in a race with significant championship implications and face no suspension. How's that work?

And what about Dale Earnhardt Jr.? He wins a race, inadvertently drops a jubilant S-bomb and gets 25 crucial points taken away from his championship tally. And Gordon gets the same penalty for using the same word far more maliciously? It may be the same word, but it wasn't used in the same context.

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I'm at a loss, here.

So to garner clarity, I called NASCAR official Robin Pemberton. I'll write more about that conversation Thursday in my Final Turn, but the crux of NASCAR's argument is that they continually escalate the penalties levied against drivers for retaliatory maneuvers.

Pemberton did say that NASCAR would continue to ratchet up the penalties, and with little hesitation. Soon drivers will face suspension, he said.

To NASCAR's credit there is no possible way it can sit in the control tower and determine purposeful from accidental. So it must make it unquestionably clear that two wrongs never make a right.

Sitting Gordon and Kahne at home on a flat wallet would have been a dang good start.

That's my take.

Whom do you think should be in the business of policing on-track issues, NASCAR or its drivers?

R69717R: Well, obviously the U.N. Duh! NASCAR. The fact is they like this behavior. It adds excitement to the sport. See also, hockey.

Rivalries make for exciting racing. Will the 97 go after the 10 next week? Will the 15 look to take out the 7? Will they take out a Chase contender? If NASCAR is serious about this they will sit Robbie and Kasey for the rest of the season. End of story.

I agree that Gordon and Kahne needed to sit and think about it, but tossing them for the remainder of the season would be overkill. Fortunately, no one was injured and neither the championship picture nor the race was affected by drivers' rash reactionary decision-making.

Kurt Busch climbs into the pit box of Scott Riggs on Sunday to give the No. 10 team a piece of his mind. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

As far as Kurt Busch is concerned, he should face only a monetary fine. There's a rule that prohibits a driver from entering another team's pit stall, but Busch did so with NASCAR's blessing. NASCAR said Busch made it clear he would maintain professionalism. Well, OK. But what's the rule for if not enforced?

NASCAR officials should have stopped him, told him to go to his transporter or back to his garage stall. Climbing atop another team's pit box during competition is asking for a whoopin'.

I'm quite surprised Scott Riggs' team let Busch up there in the first place.

Tbone67: NASCAR is supposed to be in charge, but evidently the drivers aren't getting the message when a penalty is handed down. Parking a driver for a race or two or taking away the points earned during that particular race would get their attention as well as the sponsors, I'm sure.

Yep. Allison Krauss raises an important point, here: Were Gordon and Kahne forced to sit, they'd have to answer to the folks footing the bill. That gets a man's attention.

Then again, I'd have to think Jim Beam (the No. 7 sponsor) has enjoyed the multiple replays on SportsCenter this week. We've seen that replay far more than we've seen Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart dog-fighting to the checkers.

PHISH122: Let them fight it out among themselves. NASCAR needs some rivalries and emotions. It has become too watered down, worrying about political correctness and polished sponsor mentions.

No harm, no foul?Scott Riggs contends he doesn't owe Kurt Busch an apology Tempers flareRobby Gordon throws his helmet at the No. 15 after wrecking In the wallKahne gets spun, delivers a payback shot to Kyle Busch Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

I truly enjoyed Kahne and Busch showing their emotions, Robby should have bit his tongue on TV, but throwing the helmet was priceless. What is everybody at the office talking about today? Robby and "helmetgate." Not Kenseth's finish or the 24 and 8 rebound.

Suspicious, no? The television ratings sagged at Richmond, and maybe NASCAR needed some drama injected into the broadcast to increase ratings. Seems to me the track workers could've disallowed Gordon's waltz onto the racing surface.

As for rivalries, yes, NASCAR needs them badly. But not at the expense of safety. And think what you want, retaliation is dangerous.

redbrown2: Well, if the drivers can't do it themselves (and apparently they can't) then NASCAR must do it. This can't continue. It makes a farce out of the point system, when the points can so easily be affected by deliberately taking a driver out.

What burns me, though, is that retaliations get punished while the original driver goes free. So, if you are going to spin somebody out, be sure to do it first!

Happens that way more often than not, DW. It's like a thrown roundhouse in a basketball game. The replay often shows that the instigator gets in a jab or two unseen by the referee. It's the retaliatory blow that always draws the technical foul.

ultramax: What Robby did was in the heat of the moment and if any of you people were race car drivers you would have reacted the same way, especially since he was running well and the way his season has gone.

To get taken out under the caution when you are running in fourth is a pretty big blow. What happened to the "five-second delay" that was supposed to be used in NASCAR races?

Kasey Kahne subscribes to the "an eye for an eye" theory. Credit: Autostock

Robby should NOT be fined for his language usage because there was supposed to be a delay during the race and NASCAR failed to implement this into this race.

Gordon should absolutely be fined for his language usage, Hunter Kemper. One must have more self-control than that. Gordon later said so himself, even. But that said, I agree wholeheartedly that someone on the broadcast team missed the mute button on the seven-second delay.

rustoid: Of course NASCAR should be in charge. However, they need to quit being selective in their punishment. NASCAR basically condoned the behavior of on-track justice with their wet-noodle discipline of Dale Jarrett at Bristol.

Everyone in the garage got the message that two-laps for retaliation is a fair trade. If Robby Gordon or Kasey Kahne gets suspended, then it should be retroactive to Dale Jarrett.

Good point, Newman. Inferring that NASCAR's reaction to DJ's Bristol retaliation is one reason Kahne and Gordon got off scot-free holds water with me.

It's a significant Catch-22 for the sanctioning body, considering they chose against penalizing Jarrett for blatantly wrecking a competitor under full-speed, green flag conditions, then have to come back and reprimand drivers for repaying perceived debts under caution.

The safety crew dynamic is the kicker here, though. In Jarrett's case, there were no safety workers on the racetrack. When I spoke with Nextel Cup director John Darby about further penalties for Jarrett, he said NASCAR chooses to handle in-race competition matters during the race, and that the two-lap penalty was plenty sufficient.

Robby Gordon didn't mince words when he told us what he thought of Michael Waltrip. Credit: Autostock

ken955i: DRIVERS! They should be responsible for their own actions. They are professionals, they are idols, and they are very respected. It is their duty and obligation to uphold that personification that they have achieved.

If need be, then NASCAR should implement clear, specific and "heavy" regulations/penalties concerning on track behavior. Possibly if they know before hand the impact of their actions then maybe the drivers will think twice before acting.

Very well said, Skipper.

LMSCbuilder: Although I did not like all the actions taken by the drivers, I think it is up to the drivers to handle their own business. I loved the days when the drivers were more themselves then these vanilla corporate marketing pieces. I have no problem with these guys taking action and saying what they think.

Agreed. That's the thing, here.

Drivers are tee-totally fed up with the following scenario: Driver A wrecks Driver B, intentionally or otherwise, sending Driver B home prematurely with nothing to show for a back-breaking effort but a mangled heap of smoldering wreckage. Driver A continues on to finish the race, then lackadaisically apologizes for spoiling Driver B's day while praising his sponsors and his crew.

So what do they do? Handle it themselves. Jarrett started the trend and, when asked, nearly all competitors wholeheartedly agreed that his decision was just.

Gordon, Jarrett and Kahne each knew his respective adversary would face no ramification from NASCAR, so each took penance into his own hands.

2005Champ48: I think that NASCAR should handle it. You can't have drivers in the middle of a temper tantrum making decisions on how they see fit to handle a situation, especially when they have had no chance to see a replay or really have no clue what just happened.

I think on top of the fines I think that NASCAR should have a panel of ex-drivers that review wrecks and assign blame. If that panel rules the wreck intentional, the driver that caused the wreck should have to send his team and crew over to the opposing drivers shop to repair the car on Monday.

If NASCAR is really trying to cut costs for team owners this is a good start. I mean Robby Gordon acted like a child on Sunday, but you kind of have to see why he was angry. He had a great run going and someone took him out after the caution flag was thrown for whatever reason.

He will be using his time and money to repair that car. Do you really think that Waltrip cares what happens to his car? Would Kasey Kahne have reacted the same way knowing that his guys not only had to fix his car next week, but also had to go to the Hendrick shop and do some work to the 5 car?

Extremely well done, Mrs. Minister. Drivers view races in an entirely different way than the rest of us do. They see so much we don't see, know when an accident is intentional and when not, etc.

I say again: to NASCAR's credit there is no feasible way it can sit in the control tower and determine purposeful from accidental. It is truly impossible.

So it must make it unquestionably clear that two wrongs never make a right.

That didn't happen this time around.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.