November 21, 2011
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Since NASCAR officials instituted their 'Boys Have at It' policy, allowing drivers to police themselves on the track, one of the biggest questions has been how far is too far? Drivers have long wondered exactly what the line is in regards to the policy.
Some have toed the line on occasion while others step over it regularly and have suffered the consequences. A few weeks ago at Texas, Kyle Busch intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday while the race was under caution.
NASCAR parked Busch not only for the remainder of the race but the entire weekend and placed him on probation for the rest of the season. He wasn't permitted to race in the Nationwide or in the Cup race and was subsequently fined $50,000. His actions were so vile that his sponsor M&M asked to have their decals removed from his car for the final two races of the year.
Some believe that there is no clear line when it comes to the 'Boys Have at It' policy. Yet NASCAR made it clear that Busch had crossed it.
Jeff Gordon believes that the "line" has been clear all along.
"This is the thing that I disagree with and I guess it’s for debate -- is this, there’s no clear line. Yes there is -- you just saw it," Gordon said last week during a press conference at Phoenix while referring to the Kyle Busch incident at Texas. "You just saw, that was the clear line and there is a clear line."
"To me, the caution flag being out is a huge part of crossing the line. There’s plenty of times when guys deliberately wreck one another -- it happens all the time," Gordon said. "But a lot of times when that happens, it’s a judgment call. It’s not a judgment call when the caution comes out."
Last year at Atlanta, Brad Keselowksi and Carl Edwards tangled on the track and Edwards retaliated by spinning out Keselowksi. He was punished by NASCAR, but not nearly severely as Kyle Busch was for his actions a few weeks ago.
Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers had some on track disagreements at both Martinsville and Phoenix in recent weeks. While they have met with officials to discuss their problems, neither has been disciplined by NASCAR. They have come close to the line but obviously, neither one of them has crossed it.
Could it be possible that officials are showing favorites among drivers? Certainly not. The drivers who cross the line are penalized for their transgressions. Busch clearly crossed a line when he wrecked a Hornaday while the race was under caution.
Brian France discussed the issue this weekend at Homestead in his 'State of NASCAR' address.
"There is a line. The drivers may walk around and say sometimes that they're not clear about it, but they know the line," France was quoted as saying. "We have these conversations with them all the time."
He also discussed the reasoning behind the 'Boys Have at It' policy.
"We wanted to give more authority back in the drivers hands, and that's been good for NASCAR. But there is always a limit," France said. "You can't do anything you want. So this idea that there is no -- nobody knows where the line is -- not true. Not accurate."
NASCAR's actions regarding the Kyle Busch situation leave one thing crystal clear. Do not cross the line, or there will be consequences.
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