NASCAR Busch benched, fallout still felt

He was suspended after a run-in last week with Phoenix police.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Kurt Busch's championship banner waved high over Homestead-Miami Speedway, the only evidence at the track of the embattled driver.
Suspended for the final two races of the season after a run-in last week with Phoenix police, Busch won't be around to lower the flag for his successor following Sunday's season-ending Nextel Cup race.
Jack Roush, his former car owner, said Friday he never once considered lifting the ban and allowing Busch to drive this weekend.
"Kurt had been a challenge for everybody that interacted with him on the team at some time or other," Roush said. "He used up his equity with his sponsors. He used up his equity with me."
Reckless driving arrest
The fallout from Busch's reckless driving arrest was still reverberating around the garage a week later, with everyone weighing in on the situation. He had supporters in teammate Greg Biffle and rival Tony Stewart, and a heavy critic in Roush, the owner who made Busch a NASCAR champion.
Roush is still angry over Busch's decision to leave his organization to drive for Roger Penske, a decision Busch made just months after winning his first Nextel Cup title. His desire to move on shocked Roush and forever fractured their relationship, with Roush saying Friday he hasn't even spoken to the driver in at least four weeks.
So it was no surprise when Roush took the unusual step of kicking Busch out of the car and refusing to let him finish the final two races of the season. It was Roush's way of getting the final word.
Although police now say Busch was far below the legal drinking limit, they accused the driver or being belligerent, argumentative and verbally harassing the officer performing the traffic stop.
Familiar behavior
Roush said reports of Busch behaving badly didn't surprise him.
"I was doubting that Kurt was in fact intoxicated beyond a legal limit because it had been his nature to be very much like he was reported to be in contentious situations that frustrated him before," Roush said. "He's an extraordinary talent, but he's really had trouble dealing with the realities of normal social behavior."
So now, on what should have been Busch's final hurrah, he's become the champion everyone wants to forget.
Speedway officials were debating how to handle the traditional championship celebration Sunday, when Busch would have lowered his flag and watched as the new winner raised his. Roush said he and crew chief Jimmy Fennig might stand in for the ceremony.
"It's going to hurt me a ton not being there," Busch said. "Drivers dream of those type of honors and I will not have the chance to enjoy it the way that I envisioned."
Doesn't want distraction
He doesn't want his suspension to be a distraction to the final race of the season, when Stewart will try to beat Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Biffle.
"Only a few drivers have the chance to be the 2005 champion and the focus should be on those drivers, the teams, the race and the championship and not this situation," Busch said.
His team is trying to move on with Kenny Wallace behind the wheel, painting Wallace's name on the car where Busch's used to be. Fennig, who has been with Busch the past three years, said it's a difficult ending for a team that was on top of the sport exactly one year ago.
"We got along OK. Kurt is Kurt and that's just the way he is," Fennig said, choosing his words carefully. "This whole thing has been hard for the team because we are coming off a championship and then Kurt says he wants to leave. Nobody could figure it out, why he wanted to leave, and people were hurt."
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