Race Weekend Central

Kurt Busch Reinstated By NASCAR

NASCAR announced on Wednesday that Kurt Busch’s indefinite suspension has been lifted.

Busch has been suspended since Feb. 20 after allegedly committing an act of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend.

Criminal charges were not filed, as announced by the Delaware Attorney General’s office last week.

According to a NASCAR press release, Busch “is eligible to return to NASCAR racing under indefinite probation subject to additional mandatory requirements that include but are not limited to participation in a treatment program and full compliance with any judicial requirements placed upon him.”

The decision was made by NASCAR following the decision by the Delaware Attorney General’s office and Busch’s completion of all requirements in NASCAR’s reinstatement program. This included completion of mandatory behavioral assessment sessions and the recommendation of a behavioral health care expert that Busch be allowed to participate in NASCAR races.

According to the release, Busch will “undergo additional steps to address the behavior for which he was penalized.”

Busch will return to the seat this weekend for the CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Regan Smith, who has been substituting for Busch, was initially on the entry list for this weekend’s race. Busch will have zero championship points.

Chevrolet, the manufacturer which normally backs the No. 41, had previously announced that they have suspended their relationship with Kurt Busch due to NASCAR’S suspension of Busch. Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, had previously said in a statement that Chevrolet “will continue to monitor all aspects of this situation.”

In addition to lifting the suspension, NASCAR has granted Busch a Chase waiver, which would allow Busch to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup assuming he meets the remaining requirements to qualify.

“[Busch] has fully complied with our reinstatement program during his suspension and the health care expert who conducted his evaluation recommended his immediate return,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vp and chief racing development officer, said. “We have made it very clear to Kurt Busch our expectations for him moving forward, which includes participation in a treatment program and full compliance with all judicial requirements as a result of his off-track behavior.”

 

About the author

Sean returns as a ringer in 2017, contributing once a month because he (gasp!) is living it up in the big city without internet. While he's not consuming race news on the Twitter app and reddit he's writing a ton of short stories and paying the bills by working in marketing.

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Carl D.

This is good news. Now if Kurt can just not act like a jerk going forward he might actually begin the process to repair his image. Tall order for Kurt but it can be done.

babydufus

Here’s my rant…
image? jerk? really? duh…. he’s already proved himself several times over to be a terminal jack ass.
granted, one that can drive the bejeezus out of what we call a modern day stock car.
what do i care of his image? what should we “the racing community” care? he’s not a role model. none of these people are. nor should they be. no more than any other “celebrity” who has a platform or an opinion. he drives a race car for a living and he’s good at it. period.
the man was accused by a scoured woman of committing a heinous crime, then tried and convicted in the court of public opinion so the powers that be in an attempt to cover their ass-ets caved, followed and rendered their own inane and unsubstantiated judgment. (Much to their own shame.)
He continues to be victimized despite the fact the American justice system which despite the efforts of many is still the only legal opinion that actually legally matters decided the charges were unsubstantiated and unprovable.
An overly proud man has been asked questions that should never have been asked by any self respecting human being.
That same man has answered to the script that was given him by the very same people that sold him out.
I am ashamed for the former sport that I once loved.
I’ve never been a KB fan until now.
Let the deserving underdog have his day.
just please please nascar don’t script it.
fat chance.

Carl D.

All good points and I don’t necessarily disagree with them. No, atheletes are under no obligation to be role models. No different than rockstars and actors. And maybe Kurt Busch could care less whether he’s respected by the public and by race fans. That’s entirely up to him. He can be the Charlie Sheen of Nascar if that’s what he wants to be. Maybe he just wants to be himself and maybe that person is a spoiled A-hole. Kurt Busch can be whoever who he wants to be.

But the Kurt Busch we all know won’t drive for Penske. He won’t drive for Roush. Those doors are closed, and probably a few others as well. And there are sponsors that won’t touch him. More doors closed. Through his words and actions he has limited his own options. So while his behavior may not matter much to Kurt, it matters to the people he depends on for his livelihood. How many more chances does Kurt have? For his sake, hopefully not less than he may end up needing.

That said, I agree that Kurt got a raw deal from Nascar. I’m glad to see him back on the track and I look forward to watching him compete. But I don’t particularly respect him.

janice

i can’t help but wonder of gene haas has made a payment to the brain fart france endowment fund.

has chevy said if they’re back to endorsing kurt busch?

Carl D.

Yes according to Pockrass Chevy is back onboard.

russ

You can bet that if GM hadn’t changed their position Nascar wouldn’t have changed theirs. Nascar wouldn’t have jeopardized the money that GM spends.

JohnQ

I remember you mentioning that you have sponsored race teams. I’ve got a somewhat off topic question for you. To protect their investments all sports (and even in production movies) have contract clauses that disallow stars from doing anything dangerous where they could hurt themselves. Why doesn’t NASCAR? If I were paying a small fortune to sponsor say the 14 or the 18 why would I not have a contract prohibition to keep them from racing anywhere else? One would think that. Stewart and K Busch have cost their Primary sponsors enough exposure to make them reconsider their investment. What am I missing?

William J. Breyvogel

Its about freakin time already….A VICTORY LANE CELEBRATION COMING SOON NEAR YOU STARRING RACE CAR DRIVER KURT BUSCH, GENE HAAS SPONSORED #41 RACE TEAM, THE #41 RACING CHEVY SS AND THE WHOLE SHR CREW….CHECK YOUR LOCAL CHANNELS FOR TIMES AND LISTINGS!!!!

racer x

It’s. My. Personal. Opinion. That. No. One. Personal. Life. Should. Be. Brought. Into. Professional. Sports. What. You. Do. On. Your. On. Time. Behind. The. The. Camera. Should. Be. Left. Behind. The. Camera. Not. In. The. National. Spot. Light. If. Can’t. Call. Out President. Obama. Then. You. Should. Not. Be. Able. To call. Out. No. One.!!!!!!!!! / Kurt. Busch. No one. Is. A saint ??????

JohnQ

Apparently the great Micky Mantle was a nasty POS. The press covered it up. Racing like baseball is only entertainment. It is not like entertainers do anything important making their character something we need to know about. So, anything that is not criminal really doesn’t interest me. Kurt Busch is an ass, so is his brother, so was Big Bill France. so what.

babydufus

agree wholeheartedly.
I suppose i should have said “let Kurt live his life as he decides to and let’s hope that he’s learned that actions have consequences” instead of the underdog thing…
but then again I was on a rant.

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