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NASCAR: Fines, probation for Kurt Busch, #39 team members

Saturday night's Darlington pit road altercation between Kurt Busch's boys and Ryan Newman's crew has resulted in fines and penalties for both sides. Here's how it shakes out, per a Tuesday ruling by NASCAR:

• Kurt Busch was fined $50,000 and put on probation until July 25 for "actions detrimental to stock car racing," including "reckless driving on pit road."

• Craig Strickler, one of Busch's crew, was fined $5,000 and put on probation through the end of the year.

• Tony Gibson, Newman's crew chief, is on probation until June 27 because of the actions of his crew.

• Andrew Rueger, one of Newman's crew members, was fined $5,000 and put on probation until June 27.

All of the penalties stem from the late-race incident in which Busch ran a burnout through Newman's pit stall, close to the #39 crew members, and subsequent postrace confrontations between both crews.

Busch wasn't docked any points, but it probably wouldn't have made much difference in his season anyway. After keeping himself reasonably in control for the first third of the season, Busch threw away months' worth of hard work with one profanity-laden radio outburst at the end of the Darlington race.

You can understand his frustration; he had a top-10 ride despite pit road problems, but he couldn't hold it together and ended up putting the 51 car into the wall with only a few laps remaining in the race. Still, Busch's rage likely won't endear him to any sponsors looking to throw a few more bucks NASCAR's way.

And so the "Days without a Busch blowup" clock goes back to zero.