Kyle Busch to face more penalties from JGR

Kyle Busch, contrite and remorseful, promised Friday to change his behavior and conduct himself in a way that will restore the respect he lost with his road rage incident at Texas.

It's a long way back for Busch, and he'll be on a very short leash.

Busch has been warned by M&M's that the primary sponsor will not tolerate any more incidents by him, and team owner Joe Gibbs said the driver is still facing further punishment for wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in last week's Truck Series race. NASCAR suspended Busch from all on-track activity at Texas, fined him $50,000 and placed the driver on probation through the end of the year.

It led to a frantic week of behind-the-scenes negotiations with Joe Gibbs Racing and sponsors who viewed Busch's latest incident as the final straw for the polarizing driver.

Firing him was not an option, Gibbs said...

...The fallout from Busch losing his temper at Texas stretched deep into the sponsorship side of NASCAR, where every team is heavily dependent on funding from outside businesses. Although M&M's parent company Mars Inc. has a contract with JGR, company officials wrangled with JGR all week over whether they wanted Busch to represent the brand anymore.

Gibbs admitted Friday the team was in limbo most of the week, unsure if NASCAR would suspend Busch longer and if M&M's would refuse to allow him in the car.

Ultimately, M&M's did withdrawal from the final two races of the year, but Gibbs put longtime partner Interstate Batteries on the No. 18 Toyota. Gibbs would not discuss whether the team had to refund money to Mars, if Busch will collect salary these final two weeks, or if Interstate Batteries had to pay to get on the car.

But Interstate chairman Norm Miller said his 20-year relationship with Gibbs — his company was JGR's first sponsor — was the primary reason he stepped up for Busch. Interstate sponsored Busch in seven races this year in NASCAR's top three series.

"We feel NASCAR took the appropriate action with Kyle, and we think he will become a better person for it," Miller said in a statement. "We also understand and honor Mars' reasons for stepping back for these last two weeks of the season. As founding sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing, we felt it was the right thing to do to support JGR, Kyle and the No. 18 team during this difficult time."

Interstate's affiliation will undoubtedly bring attention to the company the last two weeks as Busch is one of the most recognized drivers in NASCAR and brings his sponsors a ton of exposure. According to Joyce Julius and Associates, Busch ranked first among all Sprint Cup drivers in mentions (4,991) and interview time (1 hour, 1 minute) through the first 32 races of the season. He ranked third in number of interviews (49).

With 104 victories in the top three series, Busch is one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR and opened the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship tied with Kevin Harvick as the top seed. But he stumbled through the first few races, never challenged for the title, and his suspension last weekend dropped him from seventh to 11th in points.

"That's a huge deal," Gibbs said. "I know Kyle and all of us were excited about getting back in the top five and this will probably take that away from us and we understand that."

At last year's season-ending awards banquet, the monetary difference between the seventh and 11th-place driver was $393,982.

And, Gibbs promised additional penalties would be levied against Busch...