Stewart pleased with Eldora race

   Clint Bowyer won Tony Stewart's annual dirt track charity race at Eldora Speedway this week - an event which once again raised funds for four children's hospitals across the country.

   Stewart was asked Friday at Pocono Raceway to give an update on how the race went and the response from the drivers involved this season.

   Q: TALK ABOUT THE PRELUDE, HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?

   Stewart: I thought it was good. I wish I would have ran a little better but its good seeing another first-time winner there and everybody had a good time. That’s what it’s all about.

   Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SUCCESSFUL IT WAS AS A FUNDRAISER FOR YOUR CAUSES? “

   Stewart: The hard thing is with the HBO/Pay-Per-View side it takes months to get those numbers in. That’s the hard part because we never know right away. I checked with everybody I knew and they all ordered it. There were people that ordered it and went and watched it somewhere else too. I think everybody was trying to do everything they could to do their part.

   Q: YOU FINALLY SAW A BREAK WITH THE WEATHER FOR YOU I KNOW THAT’S A FIRST ALMOST WITH THE YEARS PAST, THE GUYS SAID THEY HAD A GREAT TIME, WHAT WAS YOUR SENSE OF HOW GOOD OF A TIME ALL THE CUP GUYS HAD?

   Stewart: “I was still getting text messages this morning from drivers. They’re the ones that make it so big. It’s hard to get that many guys together and get their schedules all coordinated like that. They’ve always done a great job for us there. That’s the best part and highlight to me, giving a lot of money away to kids and making sure that these guys are having a good time. When I know they’ve had fun then it’s all worthwhile.

Richard Childress Statement No. 2

    Richard Childress gave a public statement on Friday morning at Pocono Raceway regarding his fine and probation for striking driver Kyle Busch in the garage area last weekend following the Truck race at Kansas Speedway.

   According to the press release announcing the media availability, Childress was also supposed to take questions and answers but elected not to at the last minute.

   Here is his complete statement:

   Childress: “Here is the deal. I am going to make one statement on this deal. I appreciate everyone’s patience during the last week when I couldn’t talk to everyone. The main thing is I take all the responsibility for my actions last week. I am very passionate about this sport. I am passionate about my race teams, our fans and I let my emotions get…come in front of my passion. But that is behind us.

   “I guess the next thing is the fine that was levied against me, I’m going to pay it personal. I agree that NASCAR should have done something with me. I don’t agree that they didn’t handle the situation that happened on the cool-down lap.

  

   “With that said, we had a lot of fans to send in donations last week toward our fine, I am going to pay it personally. All that money that has been sent in, that is still coming in, we’re going to take and donate to the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. At least in every bad situation, something good will come out of it.

    “Hopefully Kyle (Busch) and myself will both end up learning something from this. Thank you all very much. Talk to you later. That’s it.”

Jimmy Spencer backs Kyle Busch?!?

    Add this to the "What I didn't expect to hear from a driver category." In a recent interview with Speed Channel's public relations staff, former NASCAR driver-turned-analyst Jimmy Spencer was asked where he came down on the Richard Childress vs. Kyle Busch debate.

   Spencer's answer to that as well as several other questions related to the incident following last Saturday's Truck Series race at Kansas will likely surprise you. At one point, Spencer claims Childress' assault on Busch "gave the sport the biggest black eye it has had in years."

   Q: What’s your take on the Richard Childress/Kyle Busch ordeal?

   Spencer: Richard Childress stepped over the line. The biggest problem I have with his actions is that he’s representing major corporations with thousands of employees and he let his temper lead him to assault someone. That’s a big black eye on the sport. The fans and others in the sport may think it’s funny but these major companies cannot be happy having a car owner represent them who assaults another person. I’d be willing to bet there are some additional actions behind-the-scenes to punish Childress for what he did.

   Q: Did the penalty fit the crime, so to speak?

   Spencer: I don’t think NASCAR did enough. The $150,000 fine was fine but a three-week suspension would have been more appropriate. He took responsibility for what he did but never apologized for it because he’s really not sorry.

   I admire Kyle for not fighting back and I admire him for staying in the car at Darlington when Kevin Harvick came up to his car. He’s the most exciting driver in our sport right now. Yes, he ruffles feathers but so did Dale Earnhardt. But Earnhardt didn’t attack people. I admire Kyle for respecting Childress enough, although he got punched, to not strike him back. It takes a strong person not to hit back. I consider Kyle a strong person for not returning the punch.

   Childress’ actions gave the sport the biggest black eye it has had in years. NASCAR did the right thing by fining him but should have come down on him harder. I’ve been involved in a situation like that and know from experience that it affects the younger generation a lot, especially the kids watching the sport, to know Childress struck a driver.

   Q: How would you have viewed the situation if it had been Joey Coulter who had punched Busch?

   Spencer: I could have handled Joey Coulter attacking Busch better than Childress doing it. I do not condone fighting at all and don’t think a person should ever touch another human being. I did it to Kurt Busch and I was wrong. In today’s society, you do not touch or physically confront people. You can argue with them, call them names, yell at them but you do not touch them. There are other ways to handle these situations.”

   Q:This took place in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage. Richard Childress owns the truck of Joey Coulter and Kyle Busch owns the truck he was driving. Should an owner-to-owner confrontation be permitted or do you simply take issue with the owner-to-driver scenario?

   Spencer: No, a physical owner-to-owner confrontation is not okay. If Childress had simply verbally argued with Busch, I would have been okay with that. NASCAR’s policy is to police the garage area and the sport. The late Bill France, Jr. said you should not touch another driver. That’s where NASCAR comes in. People can say it’s owner-to-owner and try to make it seem okay, but it should have been a discussion or screaming match only.

   Q:Was Kyle Busch out of line in bumping Joey Coulter’s truck on the cool-down lap?

   Spencer: What I saw Kyle do was not out of line. If Kyle hadn’t lifted, he would have wrecked Joey Coulter. They were putting on a hell of a race for fifth place and Joey finally slid up in front of Kyle and Kyle lifted and let him go. What Joey did was wrong because he could have wrecked both trucks if Kyle hadn’t lifted. Give Kyle credit for lifting but Kyle bumped him to get his attention and teach him a lesson. Sure, he did a little damage to the quarter panel of Joey’s truck, but he also did the same to his own truck. I think NASCAR took that into consideration, as well. That’s how you teach younger drivers and that’s just part of racing.

   I don’t care who the owner is. If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Childress had the worst driver in the garage area for beating the hell out of competitors’ cars in Dale Earnhardt. I loved Earnhardt and he was an awesome driver but he was the worst about putting tire marks on you and dinging your fenders. Come on, Childress. I wonder if Childress would have grabbed hold of Ryan Newman or Rusty Wallace or Jimmy Spencer.

   Q: It’s surprising to hear this viewpoint from the man who famously punched Kurt Busch, Kyle’s older brother:

   Spencer: I went over the line with Kurt Busch. I made a better person out of Kurt by punching him but I also know I shouldn’t have touched him. I’ve been in many brawls and nobody benefits from it. Kurt learned his lesson but so did I and if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have hit him.

   And there you have it, straight from "Mr. Excitement" himself.

What gets you suspended in NASCAR?

   So, team owner Richard Childress assaults driver Kyle Busch in the garage area, repeatedly striking him with his fist, and doesn't get suspended. He received a $150,000 fine and placed on probation through the end of the year.

   What exactly does get you suspended in NASCAR? Here's a list of some recent suspensions and another list of things for which NASCAR participants did not receive a suspension.

   NASCAR suspends people for:
   -Violation of its substance abuse policy (numerous examples).
   -Using an engine which is too big (Carl Long)
   -Rigging a fuel tank to appear full when it wasn't during qualifying (Crew chief Todd Berrier)
   -Using a racial slur (crew chief Bryan Berry)
   -Using an unapproved additive in fuel (Crew chief David Hyder)
   -Having a car chassis that does not meet specifications (Crew chief Shane Wilson)
   -Having air improperly ducted into the car for qualifying at Daytona (Crew chiefs Kenny Francis and Robbie Reiser)

   NASCAR will not suspend you for:
   -Physically assaulting a driver (Team owner Richard Childress)
   -Convictions for driving while intoxicated (drivers AJ Allmendinger, Scott Wimmer)
   -Reckless driving; speeding (128 mph in 45 mph zone) (driver Kyle Busch)
   -Repairing a wrecked car to return to the track to intentionally wreck another competitor (driver Carl Edwards)
   -Physically assaulting another competitor in the presence of NASCAR officials (Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman)
   -Physically assaulting a member of the media (driver Tony Stewart)

  
   Make sense?

  
  

Q&A with NASCAR President Mike Helton

   MIKE HELTON:  Good morning.  Let me just make a brief statement and take a couple of questions.
   
   Obviously after last night's incident, we began looking into it through the evening, and as recent as 15 minutes ago, meeting with different parties.  We concluded that the driver of the 18 truck, Kyle Busch, did nothing to provoke or to cause the reactions that, in our opinion, would have violated probation.  Did nothing that would have warranted the actions of Richard Childress.

   And so we'll have to ‑‑ once we get today's race concluded, which is the focus of today, we'll have to decide what NASCAR's reaction is to Richard Childress as a member of NASCAR in an action against another NASCAR member.

   The biggest topic today, certainly, through the conversations outside of the incident itself was to be sure that today's event went on correctly and safely for everybody involved, and both the Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing organizations, we have made it clear to them that our expectations is that both Joe Gibbs and Richard Childress meet with their teams to be sure that nobody from their organizations felt like there was anything that needed to be done from their side.

   So we'll focus on today's race now, and then quickly, maybe more quickly than normal, come back with our reaction as it relates to NASCAR member Richard Childress.

    Q.  What was NASCAR's perception of what happened on the cooldown lap between Joey Coulter and Kyle?

    MIKE HELTON:  That kind of falls under the statement that I made that we don't think Kyle did anything to violate his probation on the racetrack yesterday.

    Q.  Obviously one of the things in the rule book, states that you guys can do is an emergency action and can eject an individual, one of the things it says you can eject for is for fighting.  Can you explain why you didn't eject Richard, and does this not fall under fighting with what you've been able to uncover?

   MIKE HELTON:  It does.  And we do have that ability, and incidents even beyond fighting, to feel like if we needed to do that, we could, and that was considered in this case.

   And what will happen today is that Richard will operate as the owner of Richard Childress Racing with some restrictions attached to it as to where he may go or not go.

   But we decided to let Richard stay, because there does need to be leadership of an organization represented, which, you know, historically we rely on crew chiefs.  But since both organizations have multiple teams, we decided that it would be better if there was an authority from the team here.  And there's not a second level authority present this weekend from his organization; Joe Gibbs is here from Joe Gibbs Racing, and we chose to allow Richard to participate today.

   Q.  You said what Kyle did on the track is not a violation of his probation, but what goes on in the garage, does that not have any factor ‑‑

   MIKE HELTON:  Unless you know something we don't know, I'm not sure what he did in the garage that would have been in question.

   Q.  What have you been told went on in the it garage?

   MIKE HELTON:  I'm not to go into all of the details.  I'm just saying we have not seen anything that indicated Kyle violated his probation on the racetrack yesterday or even in the garage areas yesterday.

   Q.  Are we looking at Kyle as Kyle Busch driver, rather than Kyle Busch owner, because Kyle Busch driver does have a history with the RCR company that dates back to Darlington.  I think that's kind of where it hit the crescendo when he was put on probation.  So are we looking at Kyle Busch driver, Kyle Busch owner, Kyle Busch competitor in general?

   MIKE HELTON:  We look at him as members of NASCAR.  Kyle Busch is a member of NASCAR, other drivers, crew members, car owners are members of NASCAR.  Our authority is around NASCAR members and that's the way we look at them as NASCAR members.

   Certainly we investigate to get the totality of everything we need to make a decision.  The reaction from NASCAR is focused on what happened yesterday.

   Q.  Has fighting in the garage as something that used to be part of NASCAR, people would scrap it out all the time, has that changed with the current era in sports, that you simply have to look at the bigger picture and can't allow what you did years ago?  Because a lot of that went on.

   MIKE HELTON:  I think throughout the history of NASCAR, we have gone through cycles of everything, including tempers in the garage and on the racetracks, and I think our responsibility lies in reacting to those trends, and if it is a trends that we feel like escalates, then we have a history of stepping in and turning those trends around.

NASCAR places restrictions on Richard Childress; clears Kyle Busch

   KANSAS CITY, Kan. - NASCAR on Sunday placed a variety of restrictions on team owner Richard Childress and he will face additional penalties for his involvement in a post-race fight with driver Kyle Busch following Saturday’s Truck series race at Kansas Speedway.

   NASCAR President Mike Helton on Sunday said he considered ejecting Childress from the track but decided a leader of the Richard Childress Racing organization needed to be on hand for Sunday’s STP 400.

   However, Childress was prohibited from going on pit road, attend the pre-race drivers’ meeting and was relegated to watching the race from the top of his team transporter.

   “We concluded that Kyle Busch did nothing to warrant the reaction of Richard Childress,” Helton said. “Once we get today’s race concluded, we will have to decide what NASCAR’s reaction is to Richard Childress as a member of NASCAR in an action against another NASCAR member.”

   While NASCAR typically announces penalties from the previous weekend on Tuesday, Helton suggested it may come as early as Monday.

   Helton also emphasized Busch did nothing, either on the track in the race or in the garage, to cause a violation of his NASCAR probation, which stems from a post-race incident last month with Kevin Harvick at Darlington, S.C.

    In an interview with Speed prior to Sunday’s race, Busch was asked if the altercation was the result of something brewing between himself and the RCR organization.

    “That’s not something I can answer. I wasn’t the aggressor or the instigator here,” he said. “So, all I can say is I was just trying to head back to my hauler and handle my business.”

   According to a member of a Truck team who asked not to be identified, Childress took off his jewelry before approaching Busch in the garage area and struck him with his fist.

   The two were separated, traded insults and then Childress grabbed Busch in a headlock and struck him again before the incident was broken up.

   The crew member said Childress initiated the incident.

    “We have met with all parties involved and have determined what happened (Saturday) is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by NASCAR,” a statement from the sanctioning body read.

    “Richard Childress’ actions were not appropriate and fell far short of the standard we expect of owners in this sport.”

    Busch said he would try to put the incident behind him while he awaits NASCAR’s response to the incident.

    “It may be a thought on everybody’s else’s mind but when you get a helmet on and get back behind the wheel of a race car, you get down to business and that’s what matters most,” he said.

   The cause of Childress’ frustration was likely tied to the conclusion of the race, during which one of Childress’ drivers, Joey Coulter, and Busch bumped each other battling for fifth place on the final lap.

   Coulter ended up with the position but on the cool-down lap, Busch ran into the right side of Coulter’s truck.

   “I learned a ton (riding) behind (Busch) and I know why those guys keep saying what they do. That was really awesome racing him,” Coulter said after the race. “I hate we got together on the last lap. I had never gotten tight next to somebody so I was underneath him expecting to get loose and I get tight and we kind of got together.”

   In interviews on pit road, in the media center or on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio following the race, Coulter didn’t indicate any animosity with Busch.

Full text of NASCAR statement regarding Richard Childress and Kyle Busch

 

   "NASCAR has reviewed the incident involving Richard Childress and Kyle Busch after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday at Kansas Speedway. We have met with all parties involved and have determined what happened yesterday is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by NASCAR.

   "Richard Childress’s actions were not appropriate and fell far short of the standard we expect of owners in this sport. We have met with Childress this morning and made our position very clear to him. Further, we expect he will make it clear to all in his organization to ensure this situation does not escalate any further. We will announce our actions regarding this incident Monday.

   "Kyle Busch remains on probation with NASCAR and we continue to watch his actions carefully. However, we have determined that Kyle’s involvement in this incident does not violate his probation and no further action is required."