FORT WORTH, Texas • For many who wondered whether NASCAR's "boys, have at it" edict had a line that couldn't be crossed, Kyle Busch helped the sanctioning body define it.
Busch — who was parked in the truck series race Friday night after intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution — was forced to sit out the Nationwide race Saturday and also will miss the Sprint Cup race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
In announcing Busch's suspension for the rest of the weekend, NASCAR President Mike Helton said there was a limit to the on-track retaliation that would be tolerated, and "we saw it last night." Helton didn't disclose whether Busch faces additional penalties.
Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, took Busch's place in Saturday's race and finished second. Michael McDowell is scheduled to drive Busch's No. 18 Toyota during Sunday's AAA 500.
Busch's suspension "is the most severe reaction under these circumstances, but we felt like all the circumstances came together to warrant the reaction," Helton said. "It's not something we enjoy doing. It's not an action that we would want to do, but we do take our responsibility to maintain control of the garage areas and the unfolding of the events very seriously."
Hornaday's chance for his fifth truck championship disappeared Friday night when Busch deliberately crashed into the back of him under caution on the 14th of 148 laps after the two got together racing for position. Hornaday ended up 34th.
Busch, seventh in points in the Cup series with three races left, was called to the NASCAR hauler after the race. He met with series officials approximately three minutes and left without comment. He returned for a follow-up visit Saturday morning and didn't comment.
Although Busch was driving Friday for Kyle Busch Motorsports, JGR owner Joe Gibbs said Saturday he was ultimately responsible and agreed with NASCAR's decision.
"I take full responsibility for it," said Gibbs, who met Saturday morning with Busch. "This is a tough situation for us. We've got a lot of work to do, and there are a lot of people to see (to apologize)."
Kevin Harvick, the owner of Hornaday's truck, said there has to be an end to the retaliation piece of the "boys, have at it" mantra.
"Whether it's Kyle Busch or anybody else," the Associated Press quoted Harvick as saying. "This is not late model racing. I mean, this is professional stock car racing. We all make mistakes. We all do things sometimes out of character. You know if things continue to progress, we're going to hurt somebody."
Hornaday dropped from third to fourth in points, his deficit increasing from 15 to 48 with only one race left in the truck series.
Bayne gets first Nationwide win • Trevor Bayne earned his first career NASCAR Nationwide victory after he passed teammate Carl Edwards following a restart with seven laps remaining and held off Hamlin at Texas.
