Swearing by Junior

I can just hear the fans now: "That's a crock of [bleep]" ... "NASCAR is full of [bleep]" ... "Holy [bleep]" ... And of course, let's not forget, "That's bull[bleep]."

NASCAR fined Dale Earnhardt Jr. $10,000 and docked him 25 points in the Nextel Cup standings for uttering one swear word on national television after Sunday's EA Sports 500 in Talladega, Ala.

NASCAR's reaction is, well, pretty crappy.

But what else would you expect from the corporate headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla.? If it looks like (bleep), tastes like (bleep) and feels like (bleep), it usually is (bleep) – and that's exactly what NASCAR's punishment of Earnhardt is.

NASCAR has shot itself in the foot for seemingly the 4,678th time, once again choosing political correctness over common sense. It could have simply fined Junior for his slip of the tongue.

But taking points away from one of the favorites to win the championship – in the heat of the Chase for the Nextel Cup title, no less – is asinine. If those 25 points cost Earnhardt the championship, the Chase will be a farce.

Taking 25 points away from Earnhardt – dropping him from a 13-point edge over Kurt Busch to 12-point deficit – is ludicrous at the very least, and hypocritical at worst.

I publicly challenge any of NASCAR's top executives, from chairman Brian France to president Mike Helton, to try to tell me they have never uttered a cuss word in their life. Tell me they've never said, "Oh [bleep]" when they made a mistake. Tell me they didn't hit their thumb with a hammer or slam it with a car door and shout out