CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR fined team owner Richard Childress $150,000 on Monday and placed him on probation through the end of the year for an altercation with driver Kyle Busch.
The 65-year-old grandfather approached Busch following Saturday’s Trucks Series race at Kansas Speedway and apparently punched him several times. Childress was upset that Busch had bumped into Joey Coulter on the cool-down lap after the race.
Childress could have been suspended by NASCAR, but instead was only fined.
“We feel this action is appropriate and are confident all parties involved understand our position on this matter and will move forward appropriately,” NASCAR said in a statement.
Childress said in a statement he accepts the NASCAR penalty, but he did not apologize.
“First of all, I’m responsible for my actions, plain and simple,” he said. “As you know, I am a very principled person and have a passion for what we do at Richard Childress Racing. I believe passionately in defending my race teams and my sponsor partners. In this instance, I let that passion and my emotions get the best of me.
“I accept the penalty NASCAR announced today and, as a company, we will now focus on this week’s races at Pocono Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.”
Busch said he didn’t believe he had done anything to warrant the altercation.
“I don’t know that I did anything out of the ordinary that would provoke something of Mr. Childress,” said Busch, who seemed to indicate he would not press charges against Childress. “I’m going to leave it up to NASCAR and let them decide what they feel is best.”
Warriors hire Mark Jackson as head coach
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors hired television analyst Mark Jackson as their new head coach, replacing Keith Smart.
The 46-year-old Jackson has no coaching experience but has been the lead analyst for ABC’s and ESPN’s NBA coverage in recent seasons. Jackson will begin his duties when the NBA Finals end.
Jackson played 17 years in the NBA for New York, the Clippers, Indiana, the Nuggets, Toronto, Utah and Houston, making the playoffs 14 times. Owner Joe Lacob said Jackson’s leadership as a player will translate well to coaching.
Jackson played for five Hall of Fame coaches in his college and pro career: Lou Carnesecca, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley and Larry Brown.
• ESPN said ratings for the NBA Finals remain as high as they have been in the last seven years.
Through three games of the Miami-Dallas series, broadcasts on ABC have been seen by an average of 15,311,000 viewers. Miami’s victory in Game 3 at Dallas on Sunday night earned an 11.1 overnight rating, marking the 22th straight time a Finals game has been the most-watched program on a given evening, according to Nielsen.
Ratings are up 15 percent over the last Miami-Dallas title series in 2006. Viewership is up slightly over last year’s series between traditional powers Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Associated Press
