Brawl brought NASCAR mainstream

By Jenna Fryer CHARLOTTE, N.C. >> Kyle Busch had a gash on his forehead and blood running down his nose when he promised payback to Joey Logano. The two had a brief post-race pit road brawl that can be seen on TMZ, the “Today Show” and, really, just about anywhere.

The tussle shoved NASCAR into the watercooler talk Monday alongside the NCAA Tournament, and the reason why should be a wakeup call to every stakeholder in the stagnant sport because, like it or not, Busch getting pummeled by Logano’s crew is the lasting memory of the race.

NASCAR can make any format change under the sun, try gimmicks, slick marketing or the Monster Energy Girls, but its mainstream audience wants drama. Only racing fans know that a late caution nearly cost Martin Truex Jr. the win, that Brad Keselowski lost the race because of a car part failure and that his disabled race car likely led to the Busch-Logano brouhaha.

Inside the racing bubble, all of this is both a dream come true and a nightmare.

NASCAR doesn’t want to be known for brawling , and its drivers don’t particularly enjoy the scrutiny and/or punishment that comes from bad behavior. But this sport is in desperate need of rivalries, and nothing gets people talking like a bloodied face after a race.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France suggested the drivers aren’t likely to receive harsh penalties.

“We just shouldn’t come out of our chairs over this,” France said Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “The pressure on these guys today is so difficult. So it shouldn’t surprise anybody that every once in a while, somebody is going to boil over, somebody is going to think that they saw an incident in a different way and, whether it’s true or not true doesn’t matter, emotions are going to get the best of them. That’s just part of it.”

The Busch-Logano bout Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway happened in the pits.

Busch felt that Logano wrecked him as the two raced for position past Keselowski’s slowed car, so he sped down pit road, leaving the bulk of his Joe Gibbs Racing crew behind, and sought out Logano. When he found his former teammate, Busch went in swinging.

This incident certainly hasn’t hurt NASCAR, and a little bad blood could really liven up an otherwise slow start to the season