#97-Kurt Busch crashed on the first lap of Saturday’s race at Darlington Raceway, forcing him to retreat to the garage area for repairs. He eventually re-entered the race but later ignored officials’ instructions during a caution period on where he should line up for a restart. Busch was ordered to pit road to serve a penalty. Busch responded with offensive language over his in-car radio communications system, revved his engine when officials ordered him to shut his car off and threw a water bottle that hit an official standing in his pit area. Roush Racing President Geoff Smith says Busch was frustrated by the crash, which left him nursing a damaged, uncompetitive car around a narrow, difficult track for the rest of the night to gain championship points. Busch has been involved in a total of seven on-track incidents this season, tied for third-most in the series this year, according to USA TODAY database research. Smith says Busch lost his temper after officials assessed a penalty Smith called “questionable. So he fought it and lost, of course,” Smith says. Smith doesn’t expect Busch to receive further penalties from NASCAR this week. “I think he is definitely aware of where he stands today,” NASCAR vice president of communications Jim Hunter said in an e-mail. “Without going into any further detail, he certainly knows NASCAR is not going to tolerate any future temper tantrums. President Mike Helton made our position very clear.” Says Smith: “He’s now on notice. So if there’s anything else, there’s going to be a penalty associated with it.”(USA Today)(5-10-2005)
