Busch got into a scuffle with Justin Allgaier at the start of the race and the two met on pit road for a discussion when the event ended.
An ESPN reporter later talked to the hot-headed Busch about the exchange. Busch said Allgaier "drove like a you-know-what all day. He tried to door us and tried to do stupid things out on the track. (But) I'm on probation, so I can't even pick my nose the right way."
"There are clowns that want to play and we'll play," said Busch. "I've got no problem with it. But then there's fans that will get on blog sites and Twitter tonight and just start a bunch of riff-raff. (All) it was, was the initial start of the race. Race your car kid, race your car. That's all there is to it."
Speed camera's then caught Busch's response to Pockrass when the reporter asked him if his probation had restrained him from racing Allgaier harder than he normally would have. "It refrains me from not beating the s**t out of you right now because you ask me stupid questions," snapped Busch. "But since I'm on probation, I suppose that that's improper to say, as well."
"If you would talk about racing things, we could talk about racing things Bob," to which Pockrass responded, "It is racing."
Busch snapped back, "It is not racing. You're in this just to start stuff. That's all you're out here for."
Nascar took Busch aside Sunday morning after the drivers meeting and expressed their displeasure with his actions Saturday and they have taken the necessary steps for teaching him a lesson.
When this season started, Busch had said he was going to try and "put the fun back in racing."
He made a handshake agreement with James Finch at the start of the year to wheel the No. 51 car after a tumultuous 2011 season.This was a year that saw Busch disrespect his then-owner, Roger Penske, over the radio, calling him "dude," on several occasions. He also had to be restrained on pit road during an altercation with Nascar.com writer Joe Menzer at Richmond, Later, in the Richmond media center, Busch tore up a transcript of an earlier interview offered by Associated Press reported Jenna Fryer. Most notably, he directed a profanity-laden tirade at ESPN pit reporter Jerry Punch following a transmission failure in the season finale at Homestead.
Finch has said he will meet with Busch in the coming days to discuss the status of their handshake deal. When asked about Busch by EPSN, he did not sound confident their deal would continue to work.
"If he's going to kill himself, I'm not going to be in the airplane with him," Finch said. "If that's what he's planning on doing, I am going to get out." The former driver-turned-owner told ESPN in December that if Busch had embarrassed him the way he did Penske last season, "he would have gotten his ass beat on pit road. He needs to simmer down a while." He mentioned drivers David Reutimann and Brian Vickers as possible replacements for Pocono and, possibly beyond. "There are a helluva lot of (drivers) out there."
This is the best thing for Kurt Busch. The media members he has verbally assaulted over the last two seasons are all well respected, veteran writers, not bloggers living in their mom's basement. And "respect" is the key word in all this. Busch wants respect from the fans, drivers and media around him, but he doesn't give that same respect back. He may be a talented driver, but this is not like football or baseball where talent is all that matters. An owner is also trying to sell him to a sponsor and a company is not going to pay a cash-strapped team like Finch's for Busch's attitude. He needs to learn, once and for all, you can't treat people like crap and expect them to like you.
Now that attitude has finally landed Busch on the couch for a week instead of in his usual seat behind the wheel. And by the sound of things, it may have also cost him another ride. And with his reputation, who knows if he'll get another chance to race again.
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