No excuse when a driver gives in to the "red mist"

I have to admit to you, I can't focus my passion on any one form of racing. NASCAR, open-wheel, dirt, sports cars, rally, drag racing, bikes. I love them all and can commit fully to none.

Each form of racing has a language all its own. As a word-guy, I love the different vocabularies used by enthusiasts of the various disciplines to describe the art and science of racing. Depending on the type of racing you do, different terms have been developed to express the exact same concept. Where NASCAR folks say a car is tight, a sports car racer will say his car understeers, and a motorcycle racer says the front tire "chatters." You get the point.

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As soon as I saw the pit road incident in Dover with Kurt Busch (watch video), the first thought that entered my head -- after saying "What an idiot!" out loud -- was "red mist."

The red mist is a road racing term that basically translates into the temporary lapse of judgment and / or ability brought on by anger. I first heard the term while listening to Bob Varsha call F1 races in the late 80s.

Clearly, the red mist descended upon Kurt last Monday. Luckily for him, or more importantly for Jason Lee, nobody was hurt in the incident. Kurt says he saw Jason. To my eye, he came in way too hot for somebody who knew a person was standing there. I think all Kurt saw was red -- not orange and black and flesh and blood.

And what for? Because Tony raced him hard for x-number of laps and wouldn't give up the track position? In my book, that's cause for mutual respect among past champions with perhaps a follow-up punch in the shoulder and good natured threat about "next time..." Josh Pate speaks for me when he wrote in his column that Kurt got off easy.

Kurt has been on the receiving end of the red mist as well. It all started at the spring Bristol race in 2002 when Kurt bumped Jimmy Spencer to pass for the lead and ultimately his first Cup victory. At the Brickyard that same year, Spencer dumped Busch, prompting a follow up meeting with NASCAR officials.

Then at Michigan in August 2003, Kurt and Jimmy got into it after Kurt ran out of gas and the two came together again while contending. Jimmy was hopping mad and spring-loaded to even the score. When Kurt pulled into the garage, and while still strapped into his car, Jimmy greeted him with a punch to the face.

No clear-thinking person would ever believe he'd get away unscathed with a purposeful pit road ramming incident, or a sucker punch. When passion takes over, reason is tossed out the window like so much roll bar padding. The red mist will do that to you.

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

So much of NASCAR's storied, rough and tumble history goes back to red mist moments. Cale Yarborough vs. the Allison brothers in the 1979 Daytona 500 comes to mind. So does "The Pass in the Grass." Even Kyle Petty admitted on TNT this Sunday that he purposefully dumped Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt in fits of anger. The list goes on and on.

These moments are the stuff of legend. They're part of what makes NASCAR. And we accept them with either a satisfied chuckle, or with a red mist moment of our own.

It has to be said that we're fortunate these incidents haven't caused serious injury to any of the players -- or bystanders. But we've been cutting it pretty close lately. In addition to last Monday at Dover, there's the fall Busch Series race at Michigan last season when Carl Edwards almost crushed Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s hand (watch video) with a love tap during the cool-down lap (no pun intended).

Regardless of the type of racing, there's no avoiding the onset of red mist. The trick is recognizing its arrival and having the discipline to resist its bid for immediate satisfaction.