Busch

	Spencer

DETROIT -- NASCAR driver Kurt Busch dropped his assault complaint against rival Jimmy Spencer, who punched him in the face after a race last month at Michigan International Speedway.

A Busch representative called the sheriff's department Wednesday, asking that the case be dropped, sheriff's Capt. Jack Welsh said Friday.

NASCAR's penalties against Spencer were satisfactory, said Geoff Smith, president of Roush Racing.

"Heat of the moment confrontations between drivers in the garage are very, very common, and they don't lead to a punch,'' Smith said Friday from Richmond, Va., where Busch was preparing for the Chevrolet 400. "We had to make sure that NASCAR was in line with that thinking, and they were.''

Busch was left with a bloody nose and chipped tooth during the Aug. 17 fight between two of the more aggressive drivers in the Winston Cup series.

NASCAR barred Spencer from driving in a NASCAR-sanctioned events for a week and fined him $25,000. NASCAR placed both men on probation until the end of the year.

A spokesman for Spencer did not immediately return a call.

Spencer approached Busch's car in the garage area following the race in Brooklyn, Mich., and hit Busch as he sat in his car.

Tapes of radio chatter between Busch and his crew revealed he intentionally tried to flatten Spencer's bumper during the race. An in-car camera showed Busch provoked Spencer in the garage area, possibly leading to the punch.

Less than a week after the race, Busch insisted he was not trying to harm Spencer when he bumped him.

"There isn't a race that goes by where someone doesn't employ a racing tactic like Jimmy and I did to one another last week at Michigan,'' Busch said. "You might try to take the guy's air off his spoiler or loosen him up, or you might try to knock his fender in to make his car push.

"I have never intentionally tried to hurt Jimmy Spencer. It's an unwritten rule among the drivers to never overstep that boundary.''

The fight in Michigan was the latest episode in a conflict between Spencer and Busch. But despite on-track jockeying and harsh words there had been no previous physical confrontations.

Spencer apologized Aug. 29 before the opening practice for the Southern 500.

"I'm sorry for what happened and it's behind me, and I hope everybody learned from it. I know I learned from it,'' he said. "I respect everyone in this garage area. I'm sorry for what happened at Michigan.''

Busch was heartily booed after winning in Bristol, Tenn., on Aug. 23, and his sponsor, Rubbermaid Newell, lectured the 25-year-old driver and planned to set up a program to help guide his behavior.