"Selfishchildishbone-headed" all words used over the weekend to describe Kyle Busch after the latest incident in the continuing bad behavior saga of the NASCAR star.
Busch retaliated against competitor Ron Hornaday during Saturday's NASCAR truck race, intentionally wrecking the series contender while under caution.
NASCAR issued an almost unprecedented punishment, parking the rebellious driver for the rest of the weekend, including Sunday's Sprint Cup race.
Like a spoiled child, Busch issued a statement after the fact, claiming "responsibility" for his actions and apologizing to his owner and his fans.
Unfortunately for his Joe Gibbs race team, the damage was already done. Busch had to watch the Cup race in Texas from the pits in a grown-up time out; the suspension ended his hopes for a 2011 Sprint Cup championship.
Grownup does not seem to be in the Kyle Busch playbook. The sincerity of his apologies must be questioned after his long list of Busch antics, including the ongoing feud with Ron Hornaday's truck team owner and Sprint Cup rival, Kevin Harvick.
At the same time, NASCAR's current "boys, have at it" policy when it comes to driver interaction must be tough for a guy like Busch to decipher.
With his hot temper and proven lack of judgment, it has to be hard for him to know where the line is at times. In fact, Busch himself has drawn it, forcing NASCAR to crack down more and more as his questionable actions have escalated.
NASCAR's loosening of the behavioral reigns in 2010 was an effort to give the drivers more freedom to settle their own disputes and make the sport more entertaining. While there have been some run-ins between teams, most competitors have been able to avoid threatening their championship hopes and their careers.
On Monday, NASCAR handed down a $50,000 fine to Busch, and put him on probation through the rest of the calendar year, saying one more incident and he'd be parked indefinitely.
They can only hope that his is finally the wake-up call that the talented but self destructive driver needs to get back on track.
Certainly other drivers have gone from bad guy to good guy personas; Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Tony Stewart come to mind. A driver with the accomplishments of Kyle Busch could be one of the heroes of the sport; instead he chooses to play the villain time and time again.
Maybe watching the rest of this season, being forced to consider what might have been will give him the incentive he has been lacking.
In the meantime, it looks like a two-team race down the stretch for the championship between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, with Jimmie Johnson out of the hunt for the first time in five years.
Busch will be back on the track this weekend in Phoenix, but for his sake, he better be a kinder, gentler Kyle behind the wheel.
Kellie Goodman Shaffer can be reached at Kellie@BedfordCountyChamber.org. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
