No penalty to Kyle Busch for hitting the pace car at NHMS

NASCAR officials chose not to penalize Kyle Busch for crashing the race car during Sunday’s Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Busch did not appear on Tuesday’s penalty report. Competition officials had said Busch’s actions would be discussed in the department’s weekly briefing, but no action was taken.

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Busch started his Joe Gibbs Racing No.18 Toyota from pole position Sunday in Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 and led the first six laps before a downpour dampened the track, prompting the first warning period of the day. Busch’s car skidded into the outer retaining wall and sustained significant damage, relegating him to last place in the 37-car field. His teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. also lost control in melee.

Before the end of his day, Busch circled the track under the yellow flag and made contact with the race car before pulling into the pit lane. He did not return to racing and criticized NASCAR’s decision to start the event. “We started the race in a fog,” he said. “At first it should never have turned green, but then it only got worse with the laps.”

Steve O’Donnell, executive vice president of NASCAR and director of race development, then joined the NBC Sports broadcast team to explain the sanctioning body’s process to start the race with inclement weather looming at close to the 1.058 mile track.