HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND
General
Have thought about writing a blog about this. But right now, I'm both too busy AND too lazy to try. 
Instead, I'll throw a few comments up there for debate. I'm doing so with the disclaimer that I'm NOT here to defend Candy Man.
First, the events of last Friday have quickly and appropriately overshadowed by the disgusting events that are unfolding moment by moment at Penn State. Trucks were wrecked and tempers flared at Texas. But fortunately, Ron wasn't hurt & we can all move on from there. This is a racing site - not a football or criminal justice themed site - so I'll leave it with a request for thoughtful and healing prayers for all those up there.
Next - back to Rowdy. We're right back at ground zero of a question for which NASCAR doesn't have a clear answer. Is racing a sport? Is it a business? Can they be split? Or are they too intertwined to separate.
My belief is that NASCAR should have parked Kyle AND HIS TEAM for the remaining truck race and penalized the team significant owner points. His actions were in his own truck - not Gibbs. Since Kyle doesn't own drivers points, there isn't anything to deduct. But popping him with owner's points AND making his team sit out a race would likely cause him to fall back in standings and earn less money. But they didn't and likely won't. Why? International Speedway Corp owns Homestead. ISC is promoting Championship Weekend. They need TV ratings and tickets to be sold. The truck series struggles with both. So isn't in ISC's best interest to have the most reviled driver in NASCAR in the field for the race (not to mention the NW and Cup races too at ISC-owned Phoenix and Homestead) - if for no other reason than fans to boo him? And with ISC being managed by same folks as NASCAR, economics wins over what may be right for the sport.
As for Gibbs and M&M/Mars, they are indeed in a tough spot. Again, Kyle didn't tear up JGR equipment. He is an employee of JGR and obviously the team's most recognizable and winning drive. But his shenanigans were 'off the clock' so to speak.
Also, M&Ms has never really promoted a driver. Not Schrader, Irvan, Elliott Sadler, or Kyle. They promote M&Ms Racing. Kyle's wreck was not in a M&M's emblazoned Toyo. They may not be happy - but they didn't really take THAT much of a PR hit.
From JGR's perspective, think about this. If they had an under-archieving driver such as Vickers, Montoya, Menard, Truex, or Robby Gordon, the guy would be kicked to the curb in a New York minute. But their driver is NOT one of those guys. He is one of the winningest drivers in the NW and Cup series the last few years. His wins = big bucks for the JGR bank account. Like it or not, the decision to drop or keep him is tougher knowing his replacement likely will rarely win.
If Gibbs' peeps and Kyle's peeps got reallllly creative, here's what I could see happen (though it won't). Move M&Ms to Joey Logano. JoLo is just an oversized kid and could relate far more to M&M's age demographic than ANY of their prior drivers. Heck, they could even tattoo an M&Ms on Joey's Adams Apple! Meanwhile, Gibbs & Kyle should go to Home Depot and get them to move their colors to the 18. They survived Tony - so I know they could survive Kyle. The commercials could be far better than any promos for Joey. Kyle, Dave Rogers, Coach Gibbs, team members, etc. could be shown in TV spots looking for sledge hammers, power saws, wrecking bars, duct tape, etc. and play off his rough and tumble style.
Again, I'm not apologizing for him. Just thinking out loud how Gibbs could best spin this to his financial advantage. Because after all, isn't the business side going to prevail over the sport side of things - even though its the sport part that drives the economic decisions?
Its not an easy scenario to resolve - for NASCAR, the sponsors, the team owner, or the driver. To quote the famous, fictional driver Cal Naughton Jr.: My head's all tied up like a pretzel. I got a pretzel in my head!
