Busch, Stewart placed on 6-race probation
ASSOCIATED PRESS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - It began with crunched fenders, harsh words and maybe even a punch in the face. But the final result was just a slap on the wrist from NASCAR: a six-race probation for Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

Heading into Sunday's Daytona 500, it's beginning to look like NASCAR officials were serious when they said they will cut drivers some slack on their bad behavior this year.

''We're still working into letting the drivers develop and vent in proper ways, but we're giving them some more latitude,'' NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said Tuesday. ''We said in the offseason we would do that and I think this is another step to letting you know what we mean.''