Speak Your Mind: Kyle Busch parked - is that enough?

Kyle Busch is paying the price for wrecking Ron Hornaday
during Friday's NCWTS race - sitting out this weekend's races.
Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

The talk of the weekend is NASCAR levying punishment to Kyle Busch - parking him for the remainder of the race weekend. The ladies of Skirts and Scuffs speak their minds on this:

Was NASCAR's penalty on Busch fair? Enough?

Should "boys have at it" be rescinded because of actions like this and other incidents we have seen in recent weeks?

Amy McHargue: I don't think that parking Kyle Busch for the Texas weekend will be the end of the sanctions against him and the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing team. When asked about an extension of the situation, Mike Helton was clear that a further assessment will happen and that other penalties are certainly not out of the question at this time.

I do agree that parking Kyle Busch for the weekend is the correct way to handle his actions; if he had not been parked I feel it would have been likely that other drivers would have taken it upon themselves to "punish" the 18 on the track during the Nationwide race, the Cup race, or both.

The biggest issues with what Kyle Busch did, in my opinion, are that the incident occurred after the caution flag had been waved - he can clearly be seen coming up on Ron Hornaday's back bumped at a high rate of speed after Hornaday had begun to slow, and during the retaliation move his crew chief was heard over Busch's radio saying "Calm down, calm down, it's all right ..."

Kyle Busch was simply out of control and could not be reeled in. When a driver is that far out of control he is a danger to himself and others on the track. Taking him out of the weekend was the only safe decision that NASCAR officials could make. We will see on Tuesday what other sanctions are brought against Kyle and the 18 team.

Debbie Ross: I think NASCAR was right to park Kyle Busch for the weekend. As this, in my opinion, was clearly not an instance of "boys have at it.” It was a blatant expression of anger and loss of control at the hands of Kyle Busch.

In lieu of the tragic death of Dan Wheldon, NASCAR's decision was right on this time. Thankfully, no one was killed. My dad always reminded me that a car is a dangerous weapon, to be treated as such and with the greatest respect. I hope Kyle Busch, an exceptional driver, has learned the same after this incident.

LJ Cloud: It was completely fair and he should face further sanctions in the truck series. I think it was enough from NASCAR in the other series. I also think Joe Gibbs and his sponsors in all series should do something as well.

No, because 1) the other "boys" are mostly behaving themselves within the guidelines and 2) I think the other drivers have suffered enough for Busch's adolescent temper tantrum. Instead of addressing their fans and plugging their sponsors they are once again in the position of answering questions about Busch, and being asked to assess NASCAR's actions. Enough already.

Lacy Keyser: I feel Kyle got what was deserved; he should be parked for the rest of the season. It’s a yes and no answer; yes, I feel like maybe if he was parked the whole season he'd learn a lesson. And no, because I think NASCAR won't.

I worry that M&Ms is going to leave, if so I hope they stay in the NASCAR and sponsor someone else. Losing a sponsor like M&Ms would hurt NASCAR and I hope that doesn’t happen. I think all in all, Kyle Busch got what was coming to him and I really hope he doesn’t do it again, if he knows that this wasn’t the best thing to.

Amanda Ebersole: Solely based on Kyle Busch’s previous actions and disregard toward other drivers and NASCAR, I have to say no, this is not enough. I expect NASCAR to levy further fines, both monetary and points against Busch. As for whether or not Busch will drive the rest of the season, honestly I think that is a hard decision for NASCAR to make. I would not want to be the one making that decision, but my vote is to leave him parked.

“Boys have at it” needs to be rescinded; it is a dangerous mantra to preach and in situations like this can be thrown in the face of officials. Martinsville for example, was boys have at it, hard racing on the shortest track in NASCAR. Kyle Busch crashing Ron Hornaday under caution – in no way can that be construed as “boys have at it!”

For 2012, NASCAR needs a better tagline for the policy of self-policing, because “boys have at it” is too dangerous.

Rebecca Kivak: NASCAR's decision to park Kyle Busch for the weekend was the right one. Busch blatantly retaliated against Ron Hornaday under caution at nearly full speed, ramming the back of the No. 33 truck and causing Hornaday to hit the wall head-on, wrecking both trucks in the process. There is no excuse for what Busch did. It was completely unsportsmanlike, and sadly the latest in an ongoing pattern of reckless behavior. Busch lost his head; giving in to that kind of rage made him a safety risk to the drivers in all three series.

We're incredibly fortunate that Hornaday was not injured or worse, as well as anyone else on the track. Just three weeks after Dan Wheldon's death in a fiery wreck in the IndyCar season finale, Busch's actions are even more shocking. NASCAR needed to crack down on Busch to get the message across that this is not "boys have at it" and his behavior will not be tolerated.

I expect NASCAR or Joe Gibbs will likely further penalize Busch after this weekend. As big a transgression as this is, I don't think Busch should be fired. In an ESPN interview, Gibbs skirted questions about Busch's long-term future with the team.

I know I've been critical of Busch in the past, for example: for punting Kevin Harvick's car into the pit road wall at Darlington, bumping Joey Coulter on the cool-down lap at a truck race when Busch was on probation, and I also thought he was in the wrong for retaliating against Elliott Sadler at the Bristol truck race. In the first two incidents I though NASCAR should have come down harder on Busch for his actions. I want to be clear that I think Busch is a very good driver - one of the most talented on the track, in fact - and to see him do such stupid and reckless things frustrates me to no end. When is he going to grow up?

Busch has apologized before for his past actions, only to go on and do more of the same. Actions speak louder than words - if Busch is sincere this time out, he needs to walk the walk after talking it.

Do I think "boys have at it" should be rescinded after this and other recent events, primarily at Martinsville? No, I don't. I understand the mantra encourages aggression, but not this. What happened Friday night was not racing. NASCAR said that Busch's actions crossed the line, and I agree. However, I also think the line was already crossed when Carl Edwards retaliated against Brad Keselowski last year at Atlanta and Gateway. NASCAR didn't penalize Edwards harsh enough for those incidents, in my opinion. Despite the inconsistencies of the penalties, I think NASCAR got it right this time.