NASCAR champion Kyle Busch offers verdict on CONTROVERSIAL penalty decision

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has criticized the decision not to issue a race suspension to Austin Cindric following Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

The race at COTA proved an exciting one, with Christopher Bell coming out on top after an exciting four-car battle late on, which included Busch.

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However, earlier in the race, Austin Cindric hooked Ty Dillon’s No. 10 car, sending the Kaulig Racing Chevrolet spinning.

NASCAR has deemed this move to have fallen under the category of intentionally wrecking another vehicle in line with Sections 4.4 B&D: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct Penalty Options and Guidelines.

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Kyle Busch disagrees with NASCAR verdict

Despite this, it was revealed on Wednesday that Cindric had avoided picking up any suspension for his act. Instead, NASCAR decided that the driver of the No. 2 Ford should be docked 50 driver points and slapped with a $50,000 fine.

This has led to plenty of criticism, with fans questioning the consistency and why Cindric has not suffered the same fate as other drivers have in the past, such as Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott.

However, the key differences on this occasion, according to NASCAR's managing director of race communications, Mike Forde, is that those suspension incidents occurred on speedways, whereas this was a road course. That, and the fact that the wreck did not result in a caution flag being thrown.

Now, in a recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Busch was asked for his opinion on the judgment, joining those in criticizing NASCAR following its reveal.

"I think intent is intent," Busch said. "I do not agree with the call there.

"It doesn't matter where it is. Doesn't matter if it's Daytona, Talladega, Martinsville, or wherever; there's intent, and that's not his first offence either.

"He got off the hook on that one."

Busch continued, later adding: "I've been guilty of it before, and I've been sat out of it before, so maybe it's all in who your last name is."

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