Has Rowdy gone too far?

It's no real surprise that Kyle Busch got parked for last weekend's Nationwide and Cup races after intentionally (and brutally) wrecking one of the championship contenders in the Truck series race. "Have at it, boys" has to have limits, even in the mercurial world of NASCAR.

In order to rank the 'slap on a wrist' that Carl Edwards got after putting Keselowski into the fence at 'Dega, he have had to had a relatively clean slate for the year; he doesn't. Kyle's been facing both NASCAR and legal probation for various acts of stupidity. Hey, stupidity happens to the best of us, but that doesn't keep it from piling up, and when it does, the consequences aren't pretty.

Based on some reports, it might cost Rowdy, perhaps the single best raw talent in NASCAR right now, his ride. NASCAR is very, very sponsor-driven (ask David Ragan and David Reutimann about that), and when your sponsors are looking to replace you, that means so is the team owner.

Even when the team owners are Joe Gibbs and his son JD, and your team is recognized for its handling of the occasional trouble-maker (e.g., Tony Stewart, and yes, even Denny Hamlin, who has been requested by the #18's Nationwide sponsor to replace Busch in the car). Busch's string of inappropriate behavior has now surpassed both Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, and perhaps even Robby Gordon, all well-known troublemakers for the NASCAR officials and administration at some point in their careers.

NASCAR is a professional sport, with standards for professionalism (even if those standards are at times a bit hazy to the average spectator). It's a privilege to race in the national series, and although NASCAR seems to have dished its punishment, it looks like not everyone involved is quite so forgiving this time around.