Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart received their awaited penalties from NASCAR. The sanctioning body, in recent years, has not been shy in burning a driver for not fitting into their cookie-cutter mold of conduct. We’re talking about a body that once fined their marquee driver 25 points during the Chase for saying "s-t" in a post-race interview. Can you imagine Brett Favre saying s-t in an interview and the NFL taking away a touchdown? It’s crazy to think that NASCAR would erase achievements earned on the track for supposed violations not done in a race situation.

Points reductions and fines are accompanied with the dreaded "PROBATION"! Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart are no strangers to probation. They are annual write-ins on the list. The problem is that it has not meant a thing- NOTHING. If it did, Tony Stewart would be in much more trouble with his owners and sponsors for being suspended so many times. There is no one in recent memory that has been put on probation and suffered any consequences, and NASCAR throws it around so frequently, it may as well be THE RAY-BAN PROBATIONARY PERIOD, so they can collect some revenue from it.

So what would recent history tell us the penalty would be? Well, most people would probably expect there to be a penalty of 25 points and a fine of $10,000-$15,000. Others are quick to point out, however, that NASCAR said that they are going to get back to "the NASCAR people fell in love with". What does that mean? NASCAR says that they want drivers to show more emotion and personality out there. OK, let’s keep that in mind. Surely, this scenario can’t be applicable. Using a vehicle as a weapon can never be tolerable can it? The alleged punch Tony threw at Kurt in the NASCAR hauler can’t be tolerated can it? Kurt could have given a little ‘love tap’ and went on and it would just be drama. Instead, he hit Tony three times. Drawing way more attention than it needed and way too close to pedestrians on pit road. What will happen?!

In civilian life, the word has meaning. The average person would say that if anyone is on probation in any area of life, then that would mean that they BETTER be careful from now on- that they are being given their last chance before significant action is taken. NASCAR has said that they are redefining their version to fit ours. Let’s hope they mean it this time. Let’s see drivers give a bump, throw their gear at another car, wrestle on the side, and take verbal jabs. NASCAR should be very tolerant of personality. There should be none when the aggression is done from behind the wheel in a non-competitive manner.

At the 50th running of the Daytona 500, there were strong expectations for a few drivers. It was expected that there would be certain cars towards the front of the pack, namely Junior, Stewart, Gordon and Johnson, which held true for two of them. What was not expected was the performances by the Busch Brothers, Kurt and Kyle.

Kyle Busch (#18), although finishing second in both the Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series Races, had a difficult time with his Sprint Cup car all week long. His practice times were extremely disappointing and far from the performances of his two teammates, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamelin. Busch did not even go on the track for one of the practices. Yet, during the Daytona 500, Kyle Busch had the car to beat, leading a race-high 86 laps. He was able to change lanes, run without a drafting partner, and overcome lost ground seemingly at will. As with most restrictor plate races, the car to beat usually is beaten, and Kyle had to settle for a fourth place finish.

Kurt Busch’s week was even worse than his brother’s. Kurt had a run-in with rival Tony Stewart during practice, for which NASCAR put Busch on probation for 6 races. After poor practices, he ended up qualifying 34th in the time trials, leaving him to have to race himself into the 500 during the Gatorade duel. After an engine failure, the 2004 champion had to use a Champions Provisional to ensure him a spot at the end of the field in the main event, starting 43rd. During the race, Busch did not have a strong car and could not break into the top 20 with consistency. After skipping a round of pit-stops to go to the front of the field, the #2 Dodge was able to run in the top 5 for a short while and fell back, seemingly cementing his fate as a non-contender for a strong finish. But Kurt had a few surprises in store. The normally aggressive Busch found Jeff Gordon slow down suddenly in front of him in tight traffic in what looked like it would be the cause of The Big One. Instead, Busch was able to avoid contact and the seemingly inevitable crash. Later, Junior switched lanes to a spot occupied by Busch, forcing the Miller Lite Dodge driver onto the grass avoiding damage and another wreck. At the time, it was obvious that if either the 24 or 88 had a good finish, they would owe Busch a thank-you. By the end of the race, Busch was in the top ten with 2 laps to go and fell in line with his teammate Ryan Newman on the last lap. Instead of forcing the issue and trying to go three-wide, Busch gave his teammate a push that cemented Newman’s first win since 2005, and second place finish for himself, and a one-two finish for his owner, Roger Penske.

With many great performances that will surely get attention and a few mediocre ones that will also, the Busch Brothers should be commended for theirs.