Final Turn: Opening the lines of communication

Does Kurt Busch make a valid point? In the aftermath of his radio blowup with team owner Roger Penske the week prior at Martinsville, Busch spent much of his early downtime at Texas downplaying the incident.

Then, he said this: "The radio, I always thought, has been a team tool that should be utilized just by the teams.

Radio daze

Kurt Busch said "Roger and I are on the same page" in response to his heated radio exchange with his car's owner.

• Busch, Penske solve issues
• NASCAR keeping radio open

"We don't get to hear what the coach says to his offensive and defensive coordinators in the NFL. I don't think that we get to hear what they do in baseball when they call to the bullpen. You don't get to hear what they say in the huddle, and what they say in the huddle is pretty animated."

Busch isn't alone when it comes to questioning why anyone, such as media and fans, can have access to in-race audio transmission between a driver and his crew. And he isn't the only one in recent times to

Yet NASCAR says the lines of communication will remain open to the public and even in the heat of battle drivers need to keep their emotions in check.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was having just that problem this past September in the Chase opener when team owner Rick Hendrick had to jump on the frequency and calm down his driver (read more).

"Ya'll can listen all you want, but if you hear something that upsets you, don't come crying to me or whoever said it on my radio. That's the way I feel about it," Earnhardt said. "I don't want to restrict the fans' access, I like the access. If I am a fan, that is what I would want.

"I guess I can understand how my comments are offensive and definitely over the top at times," he added. "As you get older you try to do better at that because that is just how you are supposed to act. It's hard in the car. It's hard to remember."

In an infamous post-race dustup between Tony Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli that same weekend at New Hampshire, it was widely rumored the impending split of the longtime Joe Gibbs Racing pair was talking its toll. But Stewart said often bits of radio conversation give the wrong impression.

"That's the kind of thing that makes it more exciting to the fans, being able to hear that, and to understand the disappointment," Stewart said "If I get out of the car and they didn't hear that, they don't understand why I'm upset. It's things like that that help educate them more and bring them more in tune with why I was so upset after the race.

"You show me a guy that doesn't get frustrated like that, and I'll show you a guy that I can beat nine weeks out of 10, every year, for the rest of my life. That's what this is about."

Final Turn: Should drivers and crew have private radio frequencies for in-race communication?
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