NASCAR penalizes Kurt Busch for jumping start at Phoenix
When the Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix finally got going on Sunday, NASCAR deemed Kurt Busch was a little too anxious.
Busch, who started second, beat polesitter Jimmie Johnson to the start-finish line. By rule, the second place car cannot beat the polesitter to the line on the start of the race. NASCAR reviewed the start and penalized Busch, who was competing to be one of four drivers to race for the championship at Homestead on November 22.
Busch finished seventh after the rain-delayed race was called with 93 laps to go because of more rain. He was eliminated from Chase contention; he had to win to move on to the final round. And, ultimately, his chances for a win disappeared with the call.
Busch was given a pass-through penalty, meaning he was forced to drive down pit road at pit road speed as the field passed by at full speed. The penalty wasn’t as detrimental as it could have been, Busch didn’t lose a lap by the time that the caution flag flew on lap 40. But it cost him a ton of track position at a track where passing is difficult.
The rule is spelled out pretty clearly in the NASCAR rule book. So there’s no way to say Busch didn’t violate a rule. It was obvious he was ahead of Johnson at the start of the race.
But while the rule is black and white, NASCAR’s enforcement of it may not be. Need some proof? Well, we went back and found the start of the spring Phoenix race on YouTube. Kevin Harvick was the polesitter and Joey Logano started second. Logano beat Harvick to the line.
Logano was not penalized for the start. He led the first 25 laps of the race. Yes, it’s imperative to note that NASCAR has said it’s looking closer at start and restart procedures throughout the Chase. But the inconsistency is glaring.
Conspiracy theorists are undoubtedly noting that his presence racing for the title wouldn’t be a public relations positive for NASCAR. After all, Busch is the driver that NASCAR suspended indefinitely days before the Daytona 500 after a protection order was issued against Busch in favor of an ex-girlfriend. Busch was reinstated after he missed three races when criminal charges weren’t filed due to a lack of evidence.
With Busch racing for the title, domestic violence and NASCAR’s handling of the situation — the sanctioning body gave him a waiver after he was reinstated to allow him to race for the championship — would come under scrutiny once again. And you can see why NASCAR wouldn’t want to face that type of attention from outlets who don’t normally cover the sport.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
