Last season, Busch berated ESPN reporter Dr. Jerry Punch during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The tirade would ultimately lead to Busch’s release from Penske Racing. He also reportedly had run ins with the Associate Press’s Jenna Fryer and NASCAR.com’s Joe Menzer.

In the latest incident, Busch was asked by Sporting News reporter Bob Pockrass about his incident and discussion with Justin Allgaier after the 5-Hour Energy 200. Busch and Allgaier made contact, but there was no retaliation.

Busch responded:

[The probation] refrains me from beating the (expletive) out of you right now, because you ask me stupid questions. But since I’m on probation, I suppose that that’s improper to say as well.

Busch is on probation for doing a burnout in Ryan Newman’s pitbox after the Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway.

Update: NASCAR has suspended Kurt Busch until June 13th, meaning he will miss this weekend’s race at Pocono Raceway. He will be eligible to return for the June 17 race at Michigan International Speedway. His probation, which was set to be lifted on July 25th, will now be extended until the end of the season.

The sanctioning body found that Busch violated Section 12-1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing; violation of probation; verbal abuse to a media member) of the 2012 NASCAR Rule Book.

Busch said in a statement:

I accept NASCAR’s decision. I put them in a box, they had to take action and it’s my fault for putting them in this position. I apologize for the comments I made to Bob Pockrass.

Phoenix Racing owner James Finch indicated that Busch may not return to the team. He said he will sit down with Busch over the next few days to determine whether or not they will move forward together.

In the meantime, Finch is looking for a driver to replace Busch at Pocono. Brian Vickers is said to be a candidate. David Reutimann is also said to be in the mix, but he is slated to drive Tommy Baldwin Racing’s No. 10 in the race.

Update: James Finch, owner of Phoenix Racing, said that Kurt Busch would be retained, and would not be released, as some had hoped after his latest outburst. In a statement, Finch said:

We have met with Kurt. At the end of the day, we are racers so we’re going racing together with Kurt and the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet. We know adjustments have to be made, but how we fix that is between Kurt and myself.

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Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion, has been with Penske since 2006, and has been at the Cup level for 11 years. He has posted 24 wins in his Cup career, 1o of them with Penske.

But Busch has received extra attention this season after confrontations with media members and highly publicized in-race meltdowns directed towards his team and crew chief.

Following his transmission problems at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch was caught on camera making an obscene gesture. He was later shown berating ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch in a video that went viral on YouTube. NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for his actions. He apologized.

Both Penske and Shell Pennzoil, Busch’s sponsor, released statements condemning the behavior.

Penske issued its statement shortly after the video went viral. The organization said:

These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company’s standards for behavior, respect for others and professionalism. This matter is being reviewed internally with no further comment at this time.

Shell and Pennzoil echoed those sentiments in their statement:

Shell and Pennzoil are disappointed with recent actions by driver, Kurt Busch, at the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season. His actions are in no way consistent with the way we want our brands represented and we have expressed our disappointment and concerns directly to Penske Racing.

In addition to his actions at Homestead, Busch has received a lot of negative attention for his tirades over the radio during races. Busch had a rocky relationship with his crew chief of the last two years, Steve Addington. The pair won four races in two seasons, but Addington chose to leave the team at the end of the season. While there is nothing official to indicate that Addington left due to the way that Busch treated him, it is hard to imagine that it did not play a role.

In his time at Penske, Busch had been with four different crew chiefs.

Rumor has it that David Ragan is the leading candidate for the job. Ragan is coming off of one of his best Sprint Cup seasons, having earned his first career victory at Daytona International Speedway, and being close to winning the Daytona 500. David Reutimann and Brian Vickers, and Sam Hornish, who has driven for Penske before, may also be considered for the ride, if the report is true.

At this time, there has been no official word, so assume this a rumor.

Update: The Associated Press is reporting that Busch and Penske have agreed to part ways. This is the second time in his career, Busch has been released from a major team for his behavior. Busch was released from Roush Fenway Racing following an incident with Arizona police.

Update 2: Penske officially announced the separation. Penske owner Roger Penske said:

I appreciate the victories that Kurt has brought Penske Racing and our sponsors over the past six years. While I am disappointed that Kurt will not be racing for our team in the future, both Kurt and I felt that separating at this time was best for all parties, including our team and sponsors. I wish Kurt the best in his future racing endeavors.

Busch added:

I am grateful to Penske Racing for six very productive years. Together we won a lot of races -16 in all. Leaving a great organization and a lucrative contract is not easy, but it’s an important step for me and allows me to take a deep breath to work on things that can make me a better driver and a better person. I want to personally thank Roger Penske for the opportunity that he has given me.