Kurt Busch thinks NASCAR’s penalty system is completely broken. He argues the league relies way too much on radio chatter to punish drivers, and he is using his own brother to prove his point.

After the drama at Texas Motor Speedway, Kurt sided with fans who believe Kyle Busch deserved a major penalty. Kyle escaped punishment despite appearing to wreck John Hunter Nemechek deliberately. Meanwhile, his teammate Ryan Preece was fined $50,000 and docked 25 points for doing the same thing earlier in the race.

With two laps to go in the 267-lap race, Kyle responded to an aggressive move by Nemechek while fighting for 12th place by turning the No. 42 driver into the wall. It effectively ruined both of their races, as they fell to 20th and 21st, respectively. The move clearly looked intentional, and everyone watching expected NASCAR to step in. But because Kyle remained silent on the team radio, officials let it go.

“There was no audio that came out that said, ‘I’m going to wreck the 42,’ and then he wrecked the 42,” NASCAR official Mike Forde justified.

Preece wasn’t so lucky. On Lap 101, he took Ty Gibbs out of contention. The difference that ultimately led to the punishment was that Preece said over the radio, “I’m done with him.”

Kurt Busch, speaking on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, argued that NASCAR should not be relying on radio messages as decisive evidence when handing out penalties. It was clear that Kyle did what he intended, and everyone who was watching saw that.

“NASCAR shouldn’t go off of what someone says on the radio,” he said. “They should be able to still look at the eyeball, the eyeball test. What my brother did to John Hunter [Nemechek] was the same exact thing… but to have Preece penalized and not my brother? I have no problem saying it.”

Kurt recalled the 2002 All-Star Race, where he wrecked Robby Gordon to bring out a yellow. The move did not help him much as he still finished fourth, but NASCAR only fined him after he admitted to it days later. Gordon’s team, Richard Childress Racing, understandably, was livid.

“I didn’t say anything [on the radio], but the yellow came out, we got another set of tires,” Kurt revealed. “I was on a radio show Tuesday afterwards, and I said, ‘ Oh yeah, I wrecked him.’ I was looking for a yellow because I needed one more shot. On Wednesday, NASCAR issued me a $100,000 penalty, even though it was an All-Star Race. Richard Childress wanted to fight me.”

Even 24 years later, radio messages continue to carry far too much importance in these verdicts. The recent controversy forced Kurt to revisit the past and highlight this strange habit, even if it meant publicly acknowledging his brother was guilty in Texas.

Denny Hamlin, who finished second that day, was also among those frustrated by NASCAR’s decision.

Denny Hamlin’s problem with the Kyle Busch verdict

During the 2023 Cup Series race at Phoenix, Hamlin drove Ross Chastain into the wall in what NASCAR initially ruled a racing incident. But hours later, Hamlin went on his podcast and admitted he had “let the wheel go.”

Once again, the punishment came only after Hamlin publicly accepted responsibility.

“When I said that I washed Ross Chastain up into the wall, I got a points penalty. But in the end, it was because I said it,” he said on his podcast while criticizing NASCAR for relying more on audio evidence than telemetry data.

Any leeway the community might have had for Busch also seems to be fading. The Texas incident was not his first controversial move of 2026. At Bristol, Riley Herbst ruined Busch’s climb through the field on lap 312 after triggering a multi-car crash. From that point on, Busch seemed focused on only one thing: revenge.

“This is the second time in the last four weeks where there’s been a discussion post-race on whether or not he should have a penalty. The benefit of the doubt is running out pretty quickly,” Hamlin added while referring to the Bristol incident. “He lost his s— going into Turn 3, clearly.”

Kyle Busch is currently walking on thin ice. One more controversial move could finally bring the penalty he has managed to avoid for much of the season. Fortunately for him, Watkins Glen was far calmer. Coming off the fallout from Texas, Busch stayed out of trouble and delivered a clean race, finishing eighth.