Auto Racing | Stewart, Busch get probation

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It began with crunched fenders, harsh words and perhaps a punch in the face. But the result was a virtual slap on the wrist from NASCAR: a six-race probation for drivers Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

Heading into Sunday's Daytona 500, it is beginning to look as if NASCAR officials were serious when they said they will cut drivers some slack on their bad behavior this year.

"We're still working into letting the drivers develop and vent in proper ways, but we're giving them some more latitude," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. "We said in the offseason we would do that, and I think this is another step to letting you know what we mean."

The punishments to Stewart and Busch stem from a confrontation between the two former series champions, who wrecked in practice last week and carried the ill feelings into the NASCAR officials' trailer.

While nobody involved in the incident would confirm Stewart actually punched Busch during the first of their two meetings with officials, as is widely believed, Pemberton implied Busch's penalty was for what happened on the track and Stewart's was for what happened afterward.

"The accident was a racing incident," Pemberton said. "How they conducted themselves after that, after the accident and coming onto pit road and from there through the rest of the evening is why the penalties were equal."

In granting Busch and Stewart some leniency, officials also made it known the term "probation" will mean more this year than it has in the past.

Probation has been a murky issue for NASCAR, as officials haven't necessarily punished a driver more harshly if he misbehaves while on probation. NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said that is going to change.

"We're starting the season by putting them on probation and we're also going to redefine what probation means," Hunter said. "And they clearly understand it."

With that in mind, Pemberton said Stewart and Busch need to give each other some room on the track — but that doesn't mean they can't race each other hard.

"They need to be able to race each other in tight situations, bumper to bumper and door to door," Pemberton said.

The run-up to the past two Daytona 500s was dominated by cheating crackdowns that resulted in harsh penalties.

Notes

• Derrick Walker isn't buying Champ Car's company line. He has parked his car, withdrawn from testing and focused his attention on running in the rival Indy Racing League this year even though Champ Car officials say they will race this season.

Walker, a Champ Car owner who also has competed in the IRL, told The Associated Press he believes Champ Car is finished. "It has all the makings of the end of Champ Car," he said in a telephone interview. "How it's going to be done, I don't know. But I think Champ Car is going to shut down."

Over the past week, there has been talk of the rival open-wheel series nearing agreement on unification. "Discussions are ongoing, but the reality is that it's not helped by all these leaks and all these stories," said Kevin Kalkhoven, co-owner of the Champ Car series.

• Moments after pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 ended, Toyota official Lee White was asked how he felt about the Japanese automaker's results that day. "Disappointed," replied White, senior vice president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development.

In the wake of Toyota placing three of its NASCAR Sprint Cup Camrys in the top five on last Sunday's speed chart, including Michael Waltrip locking up the outside-front-row position for Sunday's race, that word speaks volumes about how much Toyota has improved.

A year ago, Toyota moved up to what was then known as the Nextel Cup series and took its lumps. A mere four of eight Toyotas entered made the season-opening race.