Kurt Busch runs out of gas, ditches safety crew
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition, said series officials met with Kurt Busch after parking him in Sunday's race but would not say what penalties, if any, he would face.
Busch crashed while leading the race at Talladega Superspeedway when he ran out of
fuel, and he drove off while a NASCAR official and safety workers were near his car. One safety worker was leaning through the right side window opening. A safety worker's bag, which was on the trunk of the car, fell off as Busch drove away.
"My understanding is Kurt had his helmet off, I was relaying the message from NASCAR to him but I don't think he could hear me," said Steve Barkdoll, general manager of Phoenix Racing.
Busch finished 39th in his final race for car owner James Finch. The 2004 Sprint Cup champion is scheduled to begin with Furniture Row Racing, his new team, in Saturday night's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Furniture Row Racing had no comment on this incident.
"We talked to Kurt about the situation with our emergency people around the car and his effort to get back into the garage area,'' Pemberton said. "We had a good conversation with him and I'm sure we'll talk
more about it.''
Busch is on probation through the end of this year for verbally abusing a news media member in June. But Pemberton wouldn't say what penalties this latest incident would draw.
"It's like everything else,'' Pemberton said. "We need to get the weekend behind us and we'll get together early in the week and talk about things.''
NASCAR officials often stress during the driver's meeting to be aware of safety crews on the track.
Busch blamed his competitiveness for his actions after running out of fuel on lap 99.
"That's the competitor in me, that's the desire that I have,'' he said. "That's what gets misconstrued all the time. This is the way my life works. Today is a perfect example. I'm leading, I wreck, I run out of gas. I'm still that competitive guy to try to get back in the race and now NASCAR is yelling at me because I don't have my helmet on and I'm trying to get it to the garage so the guys can work on it.
"This is my life. I'm not complaining. I've put myself in a lot of these situations.''
NASCAR has penalized Busch twice this season. He was fined $50,000 and placed on probation until July 25 for an incident on pit road at Darlington in May. Busch's probation was extended to the end of the year after he verbally abused a member of the media after a Nationwide race at Dover in June.