RELATED: Danica fined $20,000 for actions in Sunday’s race
Defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has been fined $10,000 by NASCAR for failing to fulfill post-race media obligations following Saturday’s TreatMyClot.com 300 XFINITY Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Busch, the series’ leader with 79 career victories, saw a three-race win streak come to an end at ACS when his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota suffered a flat left-front tire on the final lap of the race. He had led five times for 133 laps of the 150-lap event when he took the white flag.
After climbing from his car on pit road, Busch returned to his team’s hauler in the XFINITY Series garage, speaking with no media on pit road and failing to make an appearance in the media center.
According to the NASCAR rulebook, the second- and third-place drivers must report to the media center for post-race interviews upon the conclusion of the race, unless otherwise instructed by NASCAR.
NASCAR officials said afterward that no such release from that obligation had been granted to Busch.
In addition to the monetary fine, Busch has been placed on probation through April 27, 2016, a period that covers the next four championship points events.
With teams conserving fuel in an attempt to make it to the checkered flag on the heels of a long green-flag run, Busch led teammate Daniel Suarez by more than a second as the final lap began. The left-front tire let go before he made it to Turn 1, damaging the front fender and hood and sending debris across the track.
Suarez briefly overtook Busch, only to run out of gas as he entered the backstretch.
Eventual winner Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) caught and passed Busch for the lead as the two raced out of Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag.
While Busch has been fined for his actions, Kevin Harvick, who finished second following an overtime ending to the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series event on Sunday was not.
Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) spoke with the media as he made his way away from pit road, but was informed that his presence in the media center was not required.
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier this week that he was “disappointed” in Busch’s comments and actions.
“I applaud Kyle’s passion because at the end of the day, the guy wants to win and he’s not happy when he doesn’t, so you always want to see that,” O’Donnell said. “Little disappointed … in terms of the post-race comments and certainly the media obligations.”
NASCAR also announced that Sprint Cup driver Danica Patrick had been fined $20,000 for walking toward the racing surface after she was involved in a crash with fellow driver Kasey Kahne at ACS.
Patrick approached the track to express her displeasure to Kahne following the incident.
Competitors are instructed to remain inside their vehicles until safety/emergency personnel arrive and to avoid walking on an active racing surface.
Patrick has also been placed on probation for the next four events.
In addition to the fines for Busch and Patrick, NASCAR also issued warnings to six Sprint Cup Series teams for inspection issues at Auto Club.
Warnings, with season totals in parenthesis, were given to the following teams for failing the Laser Inspection Station twice during pre-qualifying inspection: Richard Childress Racing No. 3 with driver Austin Dillon (1); Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 with driver Matt Kenseth (1); Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 with driver Ryan Blaney (1); and Richard Childress Racing No. 27 with driver Paul Menard (1).
The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 with driver Carl Edwards (2) failed the LIS twice during pre-race inspection.
The No. 20 team also received a warning, its second, for failing template inspection twice during pre-qualifying.
The Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing No. 95 with driver Michael McDowell was given a warning for a truck trailing arm that did not meet specifications. The issue was discovered during initial inspection on Friday.
Vehicles failing either pre-qualifying or pre-race inspection twice receive a written warning. A third failure results in the loss of 15 minutes of practice as well.
Any team receiving four warnings forfeits its opportunity for pit stall selection, either at that event if pit selection hasn’t taken place or at the next event if pit stall selection has been completed.
Once a team has forfeited its pit selection, its total is reset to zero.