Busch: I thought I would get parked this weekend

LONG POND, Pa. -- 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."

Busch hinted that perhaps the reason why NASCAR didn't lower the boom was because when Busch suddenly pulled up next to Tony Stewart's car on pit road, forcing crewmember Jason Lee to leap out of the way, there was no contact (watch video).

Busch penalized

Kurt Busch was penalized 100 points and fined $100,000 for his Dover actions on pit road.

• Complete story, click here
• Pemberton responds to penalty
• Busch thought he would sit out
• Pate: Penalty doesn't fit crime
• Garage mixed on penalty

"There was almost hitting a guy on pit road versus actual and that's still what needs to be separated here," Busch said. "And we can't say that I hit the guy because I had my car under control when I stopped next to Tony's car on pit road."

Busch expressed regrets about his decision to express his emotions at that point in time.

"I reached out for Jason Lee, the crewmember on Joe Gibbs' team, and left him a message, to clear some of the air on things and let him know that was not my intention at all, to put him in danger," Busch said. "What the beef is was between me and Tony and from out on the track."

Busch said letting his emotions get the best of him is the thing that he regrets most.

"If I had just kept it out on the racetrack, everything would have still been pretty cool with everything in general," Busch said. "The incident between Tony and I still needs to be discussed. The guy thought that I didn't race him with enough room. I felt like he didn't race me with enough room. And it hurt us both in points -- and that's the tough part."

Busch said he's been in contact with J.D. Gibbs in an effort to clear the air with Stewart.

"He's going to try to put us together," Busch said. "Tony's got a lot of things going on. The guy's a two-time champion, I respect him. Everybody in the garage area respects his driving ability and what he can do with a racecar.

"He just seems to absorb a lot with all the things he does outside the racetrack. It's almost like he's our NASCAR version of Rosie O'Donnell right now. We'll see what happens."

Busch admitted he was surprised by the severity of the penalty, but NASCAR made it clear that safety is of paramount concern.

"It's a bit surprising, yet safety on pit road can't be compromised," Busch said. "I understand that. To me, it's a matter of making sure everybody stays as safe as possible on pit road.

"Dover is one of the tightest spots that we go to for pit-road action. We'll do what we can to put this behind us and move forward, to gain our 100 points back and worry about what we have to do to get ... into the Chase."