Tuesday
Kyle Petty on Busch/Harvick Penalties: “NASCAR needs to take some of the blame”
Press Release
SPEED analyst Kyle Petty took a minute out of this week’s Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America Tuesday to call into NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED (Monday through Thursday at 7 p.m. ET) to share his thoughts on the $25,000 fine and four-race probation NASCAR handed down to Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick earlier in the day.
Following is the transcript from Petty’s phone interview on NASCAR Race Hub:
On whether he is comfortable with the fine and penalty:
Petty: “I think they (NASCAR) should give Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch four weeks in the Bahamas and they should pay them $25,000. Here’s what I didn’t like about it … when Regan (Smith) won the race and they came around, those guys missed pit road for whatever reason, and they sat on the race track. FOX followed them and watched them do their circles. Then FOX watched them come down pit road. We had an in-car camera of Kevin Harvick trying to get the steering wheel off, trying to put the steering wheel on talking to his crew on the radio. The wide shot of the two cars. And I don’t know how much time elapsed but finally Kevin gets out of the car and goes back to say something to Kyle, and when he does, Kyle drives off, pushes his car out of the way.
“Here’s my problem with that: Where are the NASCAR officials to stop that from happening in the first place? Why wasn’t there a call made from the tower to come down? Keep Kevin in his car, keep Kyle in his car and bring it to the trailer and we’ll talk about it when this thing is over with. But NASCAR didn’t step in, they didn’t stop it from escalating, they let it escalate and they let it escalate on national TV. Now they want to fine these two guys and penalize them and put them on probation. I think NASCAR needs to take some of the blame for letting that happen. If this was the NBA or the NFL or Major League Baseball, once someone does something, the umpire or referee steps in. In our sport, the officials did not step in, so you can’t totally blame the athletes, and if going to blame them, you need to re-look at how you do stuff.”
About SPEED™
SPEED, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation’s first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in more than 82 million homes in North America, SPEED, a member of the FOX Sports Media Group, is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEED.com, the online motor sports authority.
About FOX Sports Media Group
FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) is the umbrella entity representing News Corporation’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets under Chairman & CEO David Hill. Built with brands that are capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FSMG includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FSMG now includes FOX Sports, the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; Fox’s 19 regional sports networks, their affiliated regional web sites and FSN national programming; SPEED and SPEED2; Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus; FUEL TV; and Fox College Sports. In addition, FSMG also includes FOX Sports Interactive Media, which comprises FOXSports.com on MSN, whatifsports.com and scout.com, reaching over 20 million unique visitors monthly. Also included are Fox’s interests in joint-venture businesses FOX Deportes, Big Ten Network and STATS, LLC, as well as licensing agreements that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network, FOX Sports Skybox restaurants and FOX Sports Grills.
- SPEED, Press Release
Article Tags: "The Lady in Black", Darlington, Darlington (SC), Darlington Raceway, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kyle Petty, The Track " Too Tough to Tame"
