Over 10 years ago, NASCAR was taking plenty of heat from teams, drivers, and fans about the sport having too many rules and too many penalties, while also policing the drivers' mid-race actions too much. So, before the start of the 2010 season, a NASCAR official at that time announced a new policy: go ahead and have at it.
Kyle Busch wants that policy to return when it comes to post-race skirmishes on pit road. This comes amid the discussion of the week in the Cup garage following the fisticuffs between Noah Gragson and Ross Chastain at Kansas Speedway.
Chastain was the only driver to land a blow, punching Gragson in the jaw. Before Gragson could return the shot, NASCAR security separated the two. Busch, who is no stranger to some shots being thrown at the track, thought the two were separated too quickly.
Busch covered the topic during his media availability at Darlington Raceway before the Goodyear 400 when he was asked about the fight. Busch, as usual, didn't hold back about his own issues with Chastain.
"I've had issues with a lot of guys, and Chastain's been the most frustrating one because he has it every single week," Busch said. "It's like, guy hasn't even learned a single lesson. ... There's a common denominator."
Busch didn't think Gragson was the right person to confront Chastain, however.
"I don't know if Noah was the right guy. I think Denny has more reasons to do that. But Noah obviously wanted to show his frustrations," said Busch, who is all but sick of the same issues every week with Chastain. "And I think Noah had a somewhat similar philosophy as I did, where it's like, 'Same guy every time. I'm not gonna take that crap.'"
Busch also believes that security broke up the tussle too soon after Chastain landed a punch.
"I feel like security stepped in about 10 seconds too quick," Busch said. "You let one guy land a blow, and then you block the other guy from getting a hit back. You gotta at least let the guy try, and then maybe get in."
Busch offered a simple way to fix the issue of physical confrontations, while also keeping the TV ratings for NASCAR in mind.
"I would seriously urge NASCAR to go with some hockey rules. Once you get to the ground or one of the guys looks gassed, we're gonna break it up," Busch said. "Let 'em get a good 30 seconds in. It's gonna be way better for TV, and ratings are gonna go off the charts."
Plenty of other drivers also spent their media sessions giving their takes on the Chastain-Gragson scuffle.
The solution isn't easy, but how much longer will NASCAR put up with some of its drivers' actions on the racetrack? Is Busch wrong in his thinking?
