NASCAR Punishing Busch Is What’s Wrong With The Sport

NASCAR is robbing fans and the sport of what makes it great if they punish Kyle Busch for his comments in Fontana.

NOTE: Kyle Busch was not punished for his comments made following the race, that decision came down after this column was written.

Passion. It’s what makes sports exciting. It’s what brings fans to their feet and makes them want to cheer on their favorite competitors to victory. With that in mind, why would NASCAR, a sport that has faced a rough patch for some of their controversial rulings, decision making and playoff formats, want to take the passion that the sport needs so desperately out of it?

That’s effectively what NASCAR is doing if they choose to penalize Kyle Busch for comments during the closing moments of last week’s Xfinity Race at Auto Club Speedway. Busch, who had a chance of capturing a record fourth straight win this season, had a tire go down with only one lap to go in the  race and NASCAR ultimately decided to let the race play out instead of throw a caution.

"“Debris all over the racetrack and they don’t throw a yellow,” Busch said on the radio during the closing moments of the race. “I’m just so pleased with you, NASCAR. Thanks. Y’all are awesome. Fixing races.”"

While it is impossible to argue about whether NASCAR should have thrown the caution during Saturday’s race or not, especially with recent gripes from fans that NASCAR officials need to let a race play itself out, NASCAR should also not penalize the defending Sprint Cup Champion for speaking his mind about what just unfolded on the race track.

Sure, it does looks immature of Busch to complain and accuse NASCAR officials of fixing the Xfinity race that day, but Busch still shouldn’t be accosted by fans or NASCAR officials for essentially speaking his mind and showing his passion for the sport he loves. By NASCAR deciding to punish him for his in-car rant to his crew chief, they are effectively setting a dangerous precedent that drivers should be censored and shouldn’t speak ill of the all mighty NASCAR.

Seriously, what is NASCAR afraid of when drivers speak their mind? Do they really think that one comment made during one race is going to send fans into a violent revolt against the men and woman that make NASCAR possible? Even worse, are NASCAR officials so petty that they can’t take a little criticism from a driver who just had a record-breaking fourth win taken away from him so abruptly?

What about the fans? Are they so blinded by hate and bias that they can’t see that a driver was just showing emotion for what just happened to him? Do they expect him to just climb out of his car and say ‘aww shucks I guess it just wasn’t my day. I guess I’ll just have to put a big smile old on my face and act like I don’t find the call controversial.’

I can understand that fans think that Kyle Busch is unhappy about not winning Saturday’s race, which he probably is, but it’s really not about that at all. It’s about how and why he lost the race on Saturday. Fans need to realize that a place in history was on the line during that race at California and Busch’s anger at the situation had nothing to do with being beaten.

More racing: NASCAR: 10 Drivers Who's Careers Were Cut Short Too Soon

Honestly, why is showing emotion and passion for the sport you love such a bad thing? Are driver supposed to walk around like robots and not question what NASCAR decides? If this is the case then NASCAR is in serious danger of losing one of the few things that fans still like about this sport and that’s the passion and energy that the drivers show the fans on a weekly basis.

Ironically, Kyle Busch’s comments on Sunday aren’t detrimental to the sport of NASCAR, which is the rule violation they could have punished him for, it is NASCAR’s way of handling this and ultimately their decision on the matter that could be detrimental to the sport of NASCAR.