Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Busch, Spencer got what they deserved

Friday, Aug. 22, 2003 | 9:26 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

NASCAR did not go nearly as far as it should have with the penalties it levied this week against drivers Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch for their dust-up following Sunday's Winston Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

Besides fining Spencer $25,000, suspending him for this weekend's racing at Bristol Motor Speedway and placing him on probation for the remainder of the year, NASCAR should have ordered him to make regular visits with the same counselor that helped Tony Stewart with his anger management problems.

As for Busch, who also was placed on probation until Dec. 31, the sanctioning body should have mandated that Busch be tethered to Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin for the duration of the Winston Cup season to learn how to properly conduct himself on stock-car racing's biggest stage. For the majority of the two decades he has spent in NASCAR, Martin has exuded class and humility both on and off the racetrack.

Although Busch, a native Las Vegan, maintains he races "hard and clean," his comments via his two-way radio during Sunday's race indicated -- at least on this occasion -- otherwise. A tape of one of those communications with his pit was played on the Speed Channel Tuesday evening and Busch clearly could be heard admitting that he was "trying to flatten" the fender of Spencer's car when the two made contact in the closing laps of the race.

Once those comments came out, it came as no surprise that Busch opted not to appeal his penalty from NASCAR; it would have been entirely possible for the commission, armed with that evidence, to hand down even stiffer penalties against Busch.

"I have decided not to appeal NASCAR's penalty," Busch said in a statement. "My decision is being made even though no one to our knowledge has ever been penalized for being struck while seated in a racecar. I am accepting this penalty regardless of whether or not it is fair or appropriate.

"My motivation in accepting it is simply to demonstrate to NASCAR and to the fans my continuing commitment to race hard, my continuing commitment to race clean and my continuing commitment to obey all the rules. This penalty has not and will not affect that commitment."

Busch's in-car communications Sunday marked another in a series of comments that have landed him in hot water with NASCAR officials. Last May, Busch was fined $10,000 for saying in a post-race interview that he intentionally spun out Robby Gordon during The Winston all-star race to bring out a caution.

Two months later, at Daytona International Speedway, Busch cursed NASCAR officials over his in-car radio and was held in the pits for several laps as a penalty. According to some published accounts of Sunday's post-race incident with Spencer, Busch and Spencer traded obscenities before Spencer punched Busch in the face.

That said, nothing Busch did during or after the race -- or in previous races -- justified Spencer's cowardly physical assault. NASCAR was right for sitting him down for a race.

With a career-high six victories this season, Tracy holds a 20-point advantage over Bruno Junqueira in the championship after 13 of 19 races. He and Player's/Forsythe Racing teammate Patrick Carpentier, also a Las Vegas resident, finished first and second two weeks ago at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course.

"Sweeping all three races in Canada would be absolutely great," said Tracy, a native of Scarborough, Ontario. "It's definitely the most immediate goal. I can't think of a better way for Player's to mark its final race in Canada than to have a 1-2 finish in Montreal.

"Finishing 1-2 in consecutive races is certainly a tough thing to do, but we had the fastest cars at Mid-Ohio and if we can be quick right from the get-go in Montreal, we might be able to use the same formula that was so successful in Mid-Ohio. We're certainly going to give it our best shot."

Tracy earned the maximum number of points (23) at Mid-Ohio by being the fastest qualifier in both sessions and winning the race, allowing him to overcome a three-point deficit to Junqueira. Despite his lead in the championship, Tracy said he is not at a point where he can afford to points race.

"As we've seen in the last two races, momentum in the battle for the championship can shift very quickly," Tracy said. "We really needed a big result in Mid-Ohio to overcome the points we had let get away the week before and the way things turned out, we were able to get back the lead in the championship.

"That doesn't mean we suddenly have some breathing space in the drivers' standings, but it means that we aren't in a position where we have to play catch-up. As the races dwindle down to only a few, you'd like to be in a position where you can control your own destiny."

The only thing Hornish revealed during a teleconference this week was that his future would include competing in the Indianapolis 500.

"I think no matter what I do, I am going to make sure that I have the opportunity to run the Indianapolis 500," Hornish said. "It is the place that I grew up going to and watching races and dreaming about winning.

"I think, no matter what I do from now until the time that I retire from racing, I am going to make sure that I have an opportunity to go there and run and win that race."

Hornish said he was "pretty close" to signing a deal and that he is not negotiating with any other teams.

IRL Infiniti Pro Series driver Tom Wood also underwent surgery Tuesday in Indianapolis to repair fractures to his back. Wood has been upgraded to fair condition at Methodist Hospital and is scheduled to have surgery on his left ankle later this week.

Wood, who drives for team owner Sam Schmidt of Henderson, was involved in an accident in Saturday's Infiniti Pro Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

Attisani suffered bruised lungs and multiple rib fractures in a practice-session accident Aug. 9 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.