Back of the Pack

Tony Stewart ran Matt Kenseth off the road, causing Kenseth to spin out and crash in the biggest race of the year (the Daytona 500). Kenseth had a car capable of winning the race, at least before Stewart wrecked him. It would have been one thing if it had been an accident. Obviously, it wasn't. Stewart has admitted to running Kenseth into the grass.

Can you prevent Tony Stewart (or any other driver) from doing similarly idiotic things in the future? No. You can't prevent college basketball coaches from driving drunk or average Joe's from speeding or changing lanes without signaling. However, you can minimize such actions by applying harsh penalties for reckless driving. Unfortunately, sending Stewart (or any other driver) to the back of the pack for wrecking another car is not a stiff enough penalty. Stewart was sent to the back of the line twice, yet managed to come back and finish 5th. At Daytona, you can make up a lot of ground. Where you start is rarely where you finish. NASCAR knows that and they should have taken a stronger stance, removing Stewart from the race and suspending him for the next race. Then, perhaps, Stewart will think before he runs the next guy off the road.

Alternate Solution: Allow the drivers to continue without penalty, but reward the wronged driver with the points earned by the idiot. Thus, in the points race, Kenseth would receive the points Stewart earned by finishing 5th, and Stewart would be considerably farther back because he only gets the points Kenseth can scrape up at the back of the pack with a damaged car.