NASCAR bars Kyle Busch for Texas races

Kyle Busch will not be allowed to race in the Sprint Cup or Nationwide races at Texas after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Truck Series race.

NASCAR President Mike Helton announced the decision Saturday after a meeting with Busch and Joe Gibbs, his Sprint Cup and Nationwide car owner. Even under the policy of "Boys, have at it," NASCAR determined Busch went too far.

"The responsibility that over the past two or three seasons we've given back to the drivers came I think with a very clear understanding that there could be a line that got crossed," Helton said. "And as annoying as the comments that I've made personally in the past about we'll know it when we see it might have been, we saw it last night."

Busch left the NASCAR hauler through an exit away from where media were without comment. There was no immediate reaction from Busch or Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch is the first driver since Robby Gordon in August 2007 to be parked for a Cup race for actions in another NASCAR race the same weekend.

Gordon wasn't allowed to drive in a Cup race at Pocono after an incident during the Nationwide race at Montreal.

Kevin Harvick, the owner of Hornaday's truck, was kept out of the Cup race in Martinsville in 2002 for actions related to a truck race there the previous day.

Hornaday was knocked out of Friday night's truck race on the 14th of 148 laps when Busch retaliated for contact between them by pushing the four-time champion into the wall. The trucks made contact after trying to go three-wide around a slower truck and both then brushed the wall.

Busch got behind Hornaday and kept pushing until the No. 33 truck wound up in the wall.

Michael McDowell will take over for Busch in the Cup race Sunday, and Denny Hamlin took over the Nationwide seat Saturday.