Busch's slap of the wrist minor compared to crime (cont'd)

Pit-road safety measures are no laughing matter in stock-car racing. Yet Friday's penalty is.

The penalty dished against Busch was Rule 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing -- reckless driving; endangering a crew member on pit road).

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

Oh, so that's the rule for using your car as a 3,400-pound battering ram when a jackman is trying to work on a competitor's car. We've all been looking for it.

Bottom line: The penalty is absurd. It does not fit the crime. And it does not hold true to precedence.

True, when Harvick was suspended for a race it came after he had committed multiple on-track incidents within a matter of weeks and while being on probation.

But let's not kid ourselves. Busch's track (and off-track) record hasn't been as crystal as Miller's brew. Remember when a feud with Jimmy Spencer came to a head at Michigan in 2003? Busch stopped in front of Spencer's hauler and Spencer promptly punched Busch in the nose. Note: Spencer was suspended for the following week's race.

Even penalties dished out earlier this season make Friday's paddle-whipping look weak.

Following Daytona, $50,000 fines and 50-point deductions were upheld for Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth for infractions on the car pre-race. The big daddy to start the season was the $100,000 fine and 100-point loss slapped on Michael Waltrip's team for an unidentified substance in the carburetor. Two of his team members got suspended indefinitely.

And just three weeks ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was penalized 100 points and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 for an illegal part on the No. 8 team's Car of Tomorrow at Darlington -- a rear mount for the wing.

So in essence, a wrong part on the COT is treated the same as Busch nearly running over a man on pit road.

And for all those interested, it would be nice, for once, to see the actual check that Busch writes to NASCAR for the fine because he will be the one paying, won't he? And this probation period through Dec. 31 -- so if he acts up at the postseason banquet, does that mean he can't race for the rest of the year?

"They all want pit-road safety, and we have to wear helmets and fire suits, but you can't combat [a car]," Lee said following the incident. "What matters is they want pit-road safety and they got a guy doing a bonehead move like that. We all got families to go home to at night."

The fact that a crewman was scared for his life magnifies Monday's mishap. Problem is that obviously wasn't seen in considering the penalty.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.