And the USA Today version of Kurt's comments:
Kurt Busch hails 'WWE action' with Newman as good for NASCAR
By Nate Ryan, USA TODAY
CONCORD, N.C. Kurt Busch said he had no problem with Ryan Newman after the Southern 500, and he also has no problem with the feud that erupted between the former Penske Racing teammates.
NASCAR handed out penalties Tuesday, fining Busch $50,000 and putting him on probation for reckless driving on pit road and an altercation with a competitor after the Sprint Cup race May 12 at Darlington Raceway.
No. 39 crew chief Tony Gibson and crew members for both teams also were punished.
Newman escaped any penalties but stirred controversy when he told SI.com that he thought Busch had lied claiming he unintentionally ran into Newman on pit road. Newman also said Busch's "chemical imbalance spoke for itself."
Busch said Friday, "I didn't have a problem with Newman."
He maintained that he accidentally hit the No. 39 while taking his helmet off entering the pits after the race and "then things just really got out of control in a hurry."
Photos showed Busch being retrained by his team members, and a Newman crewmember fell on Busch's hood after lunging from the grasp of a NASCAR official.
"Newman and I were friends; we were great teammates, and he needs to check his trophy case on the Daytona 500 trophy that I helped him get," Busch said, referring to a push that he delivered to Newman's winning car on the final lap of the 2008 Daytona 500. "We've always been great friends. There was no need for his comments afterward. He knew his Southern 500 didn't go the way he wanted it to, and at the end of the night, everybody is hot and (ticked) off.
"The Daytona 500 is a big race. Darlington is just as big of an event, and a lot of people get excited for it. And I wanted to finish in the top 10, and we didn't get that top-10 finish. So it was a tough night that all went bad in a hurry. For that, I apologize to NASCAR for them to have to make a decision on penalizing us."
Busch intimated being punished by NASCAR for many transgressions in the past likely led to a bigger penalty, and he added that slamming a door early Sunday morning while leaving the NASCAR hauler postrace also might have contributed.
He said he had probably been fined more than any other NASCAR driver.
"Is my strike zone bigger? Yeah, it might be a little bigger than others, but I don't have a problem with it," he said. "I have a great group of guys here I'm working with on this Phoenix team to put together the results that we can. We need to get those good solid finishes like we know we're capable of."
Busch, who has only one top-10 in 11 starts with underfunded Phoenix this year after leaving Penske in the offseason, said he was trying too hard near the end of Saturday's race for a top-10 when he slammed the outside wall. Scraping along the cement for nearly half a lap led to a flat tire that caused him to spin.
Newman also spun during the same caution, and his crew was agitated after the race that Busch had sped through the adjacent No. 39 pit in an unsafe way while leaving on his final stop.
Busch said Newman had left his pit 10 seconds earlier, and he didn't think he had put anyone in danger when he accelerated out of his stall trying to beat the pace car back on track.
"The lesson that I learned from that is keep your helmet on all the way to the garage area," he said. "I should have learned that from the Jimmy Spencer incident years ago."
Busch was punched in the nose by Spencer (who was suspended for a race) after an August 2003 race at Michigan International Speedway.
It was among the first of several major controversies that the 2004 champion has been embroiled in during a career that has featured feuds with many drivers (including fellow champions Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart) and in-race radio meltdowns.
As the often unwilling or unwitting participant in such drama, Busch said Saturday night proved again that NASCAR's soap opera-esque elements can be as scintillating as the on-track action.
"The fans, I heard them cheer louder (at Darlington) then when Jimmie Johnson pulled into victory lane for when the crew guy came over and got agitated and knocked an official on top of our hood," Busch said. "That's when the crowd reacted the most. So you tell me if they're wanting WWE? This is fun. This is entertainment, right guys? This is why you guys are all here suffocating me at the back of this hauler."
--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
