NASCAR officials have seemed pretty eager to dish out the penalties this season, and unfortunately for Kyle Busch, he found himself on the wrong side of that eagerness during Monday's Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
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Busch, who started on the pole for the Cup Series race and led the first 20 laps, got busted for speeding on pit road during the competition caution. Even though the incident kind of flew under the radar, Rowdy had a blunt message essentially directed at the NASCAR governing body, which was captured on his in-car radio.
At first, it looked as if Busch and the No. 8 team at Richard Childress Racing had a chance to be in the running for back-to-back Cup wins, after he started first thanks to qualifying being canceled by rain. A necessary pit stop required Busch to make up some ground, which is when his spotter Derek Kneeland jumped into action.
"Three, two, one, wheel straight, foot on the brake," Kneeland instructed. Then, crew chief Randall Burnett urged Busch to take back the lead on exit: "Go, go, go, go. All the way out, no pressure." Busch hit the gas, looking to regain the time he lost during his pit stop. But, as he hit the pedal, the NASCAR speeding police nabbed him for being above the limit, and he was handed the penalty. Kneeland let him know that he had been busted, to which Busch responded, "I don't get it."
Busch wasn't the only member of his team who found the penalty surprising, as Burnett shared the confused sentiment: "I don't get it either. We didn't do anything different."
Naturally, the penalty, Busch's fourth this season, ended up pretty much costing him the chance to make up ground. His car got stuck in the back of the pack and sustained damage during an incident between Daniel Suarez and other cars near the back of the filed. The damaged nose, while pretty significant, didn't end Busch's day, and he eked out a 21st-place finish.
Following his surprising win at Talladega the week before, Busch didn't have the same fortunes on Monday at Dover. Is NASCAR out to get Busch? His four speeding penalties have all been a little bit questionable. What more can he do?
