NSCS: NASCAR Indefinitely Suspends Kurt Busch

NASCAR announced on Friday, February 20th that they have indefinitely suspended Kurt Busch. Busch’s suspension falls under Section 12.1.a: Actions detrimental to stock car racing and Section 12.8: Behavioral Penalty of the 2015 NASCAR Rulebook.

“Given the serious nature of the findings and conclusions made by the Commissioner of the Family Court of the State of Delaware, NASCAR has indefinitely suspended driver Kurt Busch, effective immediately,” NASCAR Vice President Steve O’Donnell said. “He will not be allowed to race nor participate in any NASCAR activities until further notice.

“Kurt Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing team are fully aware of our position and why this decision was made. We will continue to respect the process and timetable of the authorities involved.”

NASCAR says that the decision has been made “following the release today of a supplemental disposition setting forth the findings and conclusions that formed the basis for the Family Court of the State of Delaware’s decision on Monday to issue an Order of Protection from Abuse against him”.

O’Donnell added that Kurt Busch could appeal the decision, with NASCAR having the ability to expedite the process.

Stewart-Haas Racing released a statement saying, “We understand NASCAR’s position regarding Kurt Busch and accept their decision. We are in the midst of finalizing our plans for the Daytona 500 and we will announce those details as soon as we’re ready.”

On Monday, a Kent County Family Court Judge announced that Patricia Driscoll was granted her order for Kurt Busch to stay away from her. The order is good until 2016. Commissioner David Jones released his written conclusion today, stating that he believed Busch committed an act of domestic violence. 

“The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that, on September 26, 2014, Respondent [Busch] committed an act of domestic violence against Petitioner [Driscoll] by manually strangling her by placing his left hand on her throat, while placing his right hand on her chin and face and smashing her head into the wall of his motor home,” commissioner David Jones wrote in his findings and conclusions. “[Busch’s] version of the events is implausible, does not make sense and is unlikely to be true given the totality of the other evidence admitted at trial.”

Jones also added further that, “The assertion that [Busch] would be chastened from assaulting [Driscoll] for fear of the possibility of physical injury is further discredited, in the Court’s view, by the fact that [Busch] makes his living risking his life on an almost daily basis by aggressively driving a race car at speeds often approaching 200 miles per hour in close contact with others driving in the same manner, at the same speed.

According to the court order, Busch must stay 100 yards away from Driscoll, her home and workplace. He also is not allowed to phone her, e-mail her, or have any communication by any means. Though when it comes to NASCAR races where they both will be, he has to “maintain the maximum “practicable” distance from her and not attempt to contact her”. Busch will also have to be evaluated for mental health problems related to anger and impulse control; he also isn’t allowed to purchase or possess any firearms or ammunition.

Jim Campbell, Chevrolet vice president of Motorsports and Performance Vehicles, released a statement saying, “Chevrolet has suspended its relationship with Kurt Busch indefinitely. We will continue to monitor the events surrounding Mr. Busch and are prepared to take additional action if necessary.”

On Thursday, Kurt Busch’s lawyers filed a motion in Kent Co. (Del.) Family Court on Thursday to reopen the protective order hearing with Patricia Driscoll based on new evidence. They have also asked the Delaware Attorney General’s office to open an investigation of Driscoll for witness tampering.

The full statement from Rusty Hardin, Kurt Busch’s attorney in full:

“Today, Kurt Busch’s legal team filed a motion in the Delaware family court to reopen the hearings on the court ruling imposed against Mr. Busch on Monday. As Ms. Driscoll’s contentions became ever more public, independent witnesses, who are close personal acquaintances of Ms. Driscoll’s, have come forward and provided information that contradict her version of events after the split, before the alleged assault and immediately following the incident.

“All the witnesses confirm Mr. Busch’s testimony that Ms. Driscoll presented herself to close friends and acquaintances as a covert agent involved in deadly conduct on behalf of the government. One witness was threatened not to talk; and another finds Ms. Driscoll’s story completely incredulous based on his knowledge of the parties involved.

“Ms. Driscoll’s frantic media onslaught of the last 48 hours at a time Mr. Busch is scheduled to drive in the most important NASCAR race of the year is further evidence that this is not about domestic violence, but instead about ruining the career and reputation of the man who left her. We are also asking the Attorney General’s Office to open an investigation of Ms. Driscoll to determine whether or not she has violated the Delaware criminal code offense of Tampering with a Witness through her repeated attempts to harass and intimidate witnesses who she fears will come forward with evidence that will totally undermine her credibility.

“We fervently hope that the Commissioner will delay his issuing findings in support of his order until we are given an opportunity to present sworn testimony from these newly available witnesses, which we know will support findings of perjury and lack of merit to her allegations.’’