Busch's slap of the wrist minor compared to crime

It was April 13, 2002, when the incident occurred, in a Truck Series race no less.

Kevin Harvick spun out Coy Gibbs on a Saturday-evening drive at Martinsville. It was retaliation for an earlier incident in which Gibbs turned Harvick around. So on Lap 188, Harvick smashed into the back of Gibbs' truck in Turn 1 and ended his day.

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Harvick immediately was black-flagged, told by NASCAR officials to come to the garage and hand over his keys. He was parked for the day. All that came while Harvick was on probation from a post-race Busch Series incident at Bristol. The expected penalty: a monetary fine and some points taken away -- status quo in NASCAR's courtroom.

But on Sunday, April 14, the news came: Harvick was suspended from the Cup race for his aggressive driving.

Fast forward to Monday's altercation between Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart. Aggressive driving, continual bumping for several laps and finally Busch tries to get by Stewart only to get turned. Stewart didn't give an inch, and his front bumper of the armored-car-like COT sent Busch nose-first into the Dover wall (watch video).

Stewart went to pit road for repairs, and Busch followed him. Problem was that Busch brought his No. 2 Dodge to a screeching halt and gently slid into Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet.

The photo of jackman Jason Lee jumping onto the hood of Stewart's car for fear of his life tells it all.

And on Friday NASCAR finally handed down its penalty. Would it be one race? Two races? It wasn't a matter of "if" but "how many" races Busch would be suspended after crossing the proverbial line of safety -- NASCAR's baby aside from the actual racecar in the world of safety improvements has been pit road for the past two decades.

And at precisely 9:13 a.m. ET, the e-mail came: Kurt Busch penalized due to rule infraction at Dover International Speedway.

Click. Open. Nothing.

Busch got spanked with a deduction of 100 driver points, fined $100,000 and owner Roger Penske lost 100 points.

There are fire suits on pit road for the gas men. There are helmets that all crewmen must wear. Most of the over-the-wall guys wear safety goggles of some kind for protection of elements and fuel. There is a limit to how many crewmen can be over the wall at one time. There is a speed limit (of all things in racing) on pit road. (Continued)