NASCAR roundup

News:

• Sources: Sadler set to return to No. 19
• Petty, Gillett Evernham to merge
• Chevy to remain Daytona sponsor
• Owner reaches deal on fraud charges
• Logano to defend All-Star title
• Baldwin to debut Cup team at Daytona

Analysis:

• DW: Teams spend too much
• Owens: Where were the fireworks?
• DW: Petty cash, not enough
• McReynolds: It all starts here
• Mondaca: Nine stories for '09

Looking back at 2008:

• Sprint Cup
• Nationwide
• Trucks

Blog:

• Check out the NASCAR community

I mentioned this earlier in the week, if you think back to Kurt Busch in February at Daytona with the incident with Tony Stewart. Tony got into Kurt on the track in practice, then they came onto pit road and they were slamming into each other. Remember that? That was the dawning of a new NASCAR.

Remember the talk that Brian France, Mike Helton and John Darby all gave during the Media Tour back in January about lightening up on the drivers a little bit? Well those two drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler. They were told that NASCAR would not tolerate that kind of behavior and you are now on probation.

In the past, we would have walked out of the truck snickering, saying we were just on probation. Basically we had just gotten our hand slapped and that was it. After that event I asked Mike Helton about it because, like I said, probation never meant much. He explained that now when they call a driver in and put him on probation he has been officially notified and there is no longer any room for error.

That means if you are involved in something within that probation window, then the next penalty will be more serious than ever. It might be fines, points taken away or even suspension. But it is a clear signal how serious NASCAR is about probation now. So if you think the penalties issued for the incident last Saturday night in Bristol were nothing more than a slap on the wrist, just remember that the impact of probation has been redefined.

I kind of snickered and I wonder about these Busch boys' judgment. I know, I know, a lot of you out there do too. But I questioned their judgment over who they decide to get into conflicts with. Kurt has had incidents with big Jimmy Spencer. Kurt has had incidents with Tony Stewart. And then Kyle decides to pick on the toughest cat in the garage area in my opinion, Carl Edwards, on Saturday night. I don't think anyone would ever classify the Busch boys as big brawny muscle men.

I have to say that the Busch boys don't back down. They aren't intimidated by anyone. Obviously they have shown they aren't afraid to challenge the biggest, baddest cat in the alley and I think that is their nature. I think you see that on the race track too.

I just wanted to make the point about probation. Don't take it lightly. It has been redefined by NASCAR starting this year. Don't get annoyed because you thought NASCAR should have done more to Kyle and Carl.

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Oh By The Way

About 161,000 people were at the Bristol race the other night. Bristol in August is probably one of the most -- if not the most -- anticipated races of the year. There's just something going on that I can't put my finger on. Something is just not right. Bill France told us in the past many a time, "don't screw this deal up". Well the way I see it, someone needs to tell someone that someone is screwing this deal up.

Oh By The Way II

I keep saying it and will continue to say it. I don't care who you are or who you drive for, DO NOT use the race car for retaliation. That's a no-no. In this case, team owners Jack Roush and Joe Gibbs should handle this between the two drivers. Those boys didn't trade punches. What they did do was tear up the team's cars. Now the poor guys back in the shop who are already overloaded with work have to fix those cars. So Kyle and Carl get probation, but it's the team members who get handed more work.

Oh By The Way III

If you wonder why I am writing so many stories this week and probably next week for Richmond it's because I want to cover all this excitement before it goes away. Once the Chase starts, well folks, you just never know.