Musgrave suspension may be message to Cup drivers

	In suspending Ted Musgrave NASCAR may be sending a message to Cup drivers that a new era of rule enforcement is at hand. Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR turned serious in its actions against drivers who use their cars as weapons this week when the sanctioning body suspended Ted Musgrave from Saturday's Craftsman Truck Series race at Memphis.

Nextel Cup and Busch drivers should take this as a warning that NASCAR isn't going to tolerate over-the-top retaliation from this point forward. The last NASCAR driver to be suspended from a race was Jimmy Spencer, who slugged Kurt Busch in the pits following an on-track incident at Michigan in 2003.

This situation is entirely different.

Musgrave's Toyota was running seventh 75 laps into the 200-lapper at the Milwaukee Mile. Kelly Bires' Ford was a lap down, but in front of Musgrave when they made contact in Turn 2.

"I guess the No. 21 -- being a lap down -- didn't give us enough room," Musgrave said. "I think he came in the corner a little too hot, got up into me and hooked my left front."

After Bires bounced off the wall, he hit Musgrave again and rolled to a halt further down the back straight.

The caution was out. But as Musgrave got moving, he drove into the side of Bires.

"I could hardly steer the thing," Musgrave explained. "You hit the wall that hard and you try to get it to the pits. I had a hard time steering."

NASCAR didn't buy that explanation and parked Musgrave for one race.

While the original contact was clearly a racing incident, the second -- to the eyes of many -- was made out of retaliation.

"I really don't know what happened," Bires said. "Someone told me 'inside' and 'outside.' Next thing I knew I had someone in my right or left rear -- I'm not sure -- and just ran over me basically. I'm just trying to stay out of the way yet remain competitive and get the lap back.

"I don't think there was any need for that. I guess he's a poor loser or something. I don't know. That's not the way I race."

NASCAR also fined Musgrave $10,000 and penalized him and team owner Bob Germain 50 points and put Musgrave on probation for the rest of the year. That's been NASCAR's standard operating procedure for contact under caution.