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 Fined, Placed On Probation For Darlington Incident
• Busch To Drive For Phoenix Racing In 2012
• Allmendinger To Drive Penske Racing’s No. 22 In 2012
• Richard Petty Motorsports Considering Kurt Busch?
• Busch Situation Proves That Sponsorship Drives NASCAR
• It’s Official: Busch, Penske Agree To Part Ways
• NASCAR Fines Kurt Busch For Actions At Homestead

Evernham served as an analyst with the network from 2008 to 2010, leaving to join Hendrick Companies as a consultant.

Evernham issued a statement:

I chose to take a year off from ESPN out of respect for ESPN and Hendrick Motorsports. I didn’t want to create any perceived conflict of interest while I got my bearings at Hendrick and didn’t want to cause distraction to either company. Now that I’m settled at Hendrick Performance, I don’t have any involvement on the racing side of the operations and it frees me from any conflict with NASCAR teams. Mr. Hendrick and I have worked out an agreement that allows me to return to the ESPN team.

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.

Wallace joined the network after retiring in 2005. He has serves as the lead analyst for NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now. He also contributes to SportsCenter, First Take, and ESPNNews in addition to calling Nationwide Series races on ESPN. He also served as an IndyCar analyst for the network.

ESPN also recently expanded the on-air duties of Ricky Craven.

He wrote:

Old Spice’s decision to leave the sport left a financial void at Stewart-Haas Racing. Mobil 1, who will leave Penske Racing at season’s end in the wake of the Shell-to-Kurt-Busch deal, is a likely replacement.

Old Spice decided to leave the team after this season, citing  a “change in our marketing strategies” as the reason. Office Depot will remain with the team next season.

As part of the Shell-Pennzoil-to-Penske-Racing deal, Shell would become the official oil of Penske, meaning Mobil 1 will have to leave the team. ExxonMobil said they would partner with another team next season.

Dave Newton at ESPN tweeted:

@kaseykahne says [Richard Petty Motorsports] has made ‘me an offer already’ but he wants to wait and see what other offers come.

If Kasey Kahne decides ultimately to leave RPM, it’s likely that he’ll be looking at one of the seats listed above. There’s always a small chance that a Nationwide Series team could approach him about making a move to Sprint Cup. But, it’s much more likely that Kahne will want to go to an established team that is capable of winning.

Assuming that the rides listed above are available, Kahne is most likely to consider the 00, 1, 11, 29, and the 82 because those seats are with larger teams that are capable of winning now.
 
It’s highly unlikely JGR will let Denny Hamlin walk without offering him a lucrative contract extension. Given his 2009 performance – assuming there’s no drop off in 2010 – Hamlin should be back in the No. 11 in 2011 and beyond.

We can also eliminate the No. 98 from consideration because that’s an RPM team. Why would Kahne make a lateral move for no reason? He wouldn’t.

That leaves the Nos. 00, 1, 29, and 82.
 
I would be surprised in Michael Waltrip let go of David Reutimann at the end of next season. Reutimann brought the team its first victory, and if he turns in a halfway-decent performance next year, there’s no way Waltrip forgets that. Reutimann has done a lot to make the team respectable, allowing them to attract Martin Truex Jr. So, I don’t think MWR will let him go unless he drops out of the top-35 in points next season. So, for argument’s sake we can remove that one from the list.

That would leave EGR, RCR, and RBR vying for Kahne. All three teams are capable of winning, even though RCR struggled last year. So, what ride Kahne lands in could depend on the performances of Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, and Scott Speed.

If RCR struggles, Harvick could – and probably would – leave the team. He reportedly asked to be let out of his contract last season, though his wish was not granted. He, too, might be vying for the No. 1 or No. 82. But, I suspect that if he leaves, he might take his Kevin Harvick Inc. team Sprint Cup racing. Harvick made a big deal of winning in his own stuff, so it’s possible that could be his plan for 2011, if things sour at RCR.

Given his history with Chip Ganassi, I don’t think McMurray will be one and done, if he posts decent finishes in his first year in an EGR car. McMurray’s a pretty good restrictor plate driver, so if he posts solid finishes there, or a win, he’d return to the ride in 2011. That said, if it came down to Kahne or McMurray, I suspect EGR would choose Kahne because he has posted more impressive results throughout his career.

Barring a complete implosion, I would think Kahne would have to consider RCR’s No. 29. Despite last year’s struggles, the team is still solid and has tremendous resources. Adding in the fact that the team is focusing on being a three-car team, RCR could become stronger by eliminating waste. (Not being stretched too thin.)

There’s also a very small chance that in 2011, RCR would try to lure Kahne by going back to a four-car team, if Harvick re-signs. I don’t think that will happen, but stranger things have.

Based on results alone, you have to think Scott Speed is on the chopping block. He’s struggled thought his entire Sprint Cup career, and is not posting solid results. He will not be guaranteed a starting spot in the first five races because he is not in the top-35 in owner’s points. If he misses some races, and falls further behind, he could be out of the No. 82 at the end of the year.

With the emergence of Brian Vickers as a contender, RBR is likely to start looking at the team to see what is missing, since it would be obvious that it is not the equipment. They might come to the conclusion that it’s Speed. Should that happen, Kahne would have to look there, considering the team has sponsorship lined up. But, if the team is outside the top-35 that would probably influence Kahne’s decision.

Should Kahne, or Harvick for that matter, become free agents in 2011, both will also be linked to a possible third team with Stewart Haas Racing. I think that — as long as SHR doesn’t actually expand – all of the big named free agents will be linked to a third SHR Chevy until they do expand. Harvick was reportedly linked to the team last season.

At this point, I think that Harvick will leave and go to a third SHR Chevy or will bring KHI to the Sprint Cup next season, unless he finishes in the top 5 in points. I don’t think he’ll finish in the top 5, mainly because of the competition, not his driving skills. So, he’ll leave. In doing so, he will leave the No. 29 vacant, which will allow Kahne to sign with RCR. This is all speculation, but that’s what I think will happen.