Nascar suspends Kurt Busch, disqualifying him from Daytona

Kurt Busch stands on pit road prior to qualifying for the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race

Nascar suspended Kurt Busch indefinitely following a Delaware judge’s finding that he had “committed an act of domestic violence,” and Chevrolet responded by suspending its relationship with the driver.
The suspension announced Friday by Nascar means Busch, 36, will be sidelined for stock-car racing’s season-opening Daytona 500 on Sunday. “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,” the organization said in its statement. “He will not be allowed to race nor participate in any Nascar activities until further notice.”
Rusty Hardin, an attorney for Busch, said in a statement after a closed-door Nascar hearing Saturday that the organization rejected Busch’s appeal of the suspension.
“We are re-appealing immediately, per the proscribed process,” Hardin said in the statement. “We have significant and strong evidence that contradicts the commissioner’s conclusions.”
Less than an hour after Nascar announced its suspension, General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet said in a statement that it had suspended its sponsorship ties with Busch, who was Nascar’s champion in 2004.
“Chevrolet has suspended its relationship with Kurt Busch indefinitely,” Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s vice president of motorsports and performance vehicles, said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the events surrounding Mr. Busch and are prepared to take additional action if necessary.”
Hardin said the case involving Busch is a civil matter and that no criminal charges have been filed against the driver.
“We ask everyone’s patience as this case continues in the court of law and are confident that when the truth is known, Mr. Busch will be fully vindicated and back in the driver’s seat,” Hardin said in the interview.
Domestic violence has been a concern elsewhere in professional sports, perhaps most visibly in the National Football League. Last year, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended by the NFL indefinitely after video surfaced of him striking his fiancée in an elevator. Robert Mueller, a former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation director, last month released the result of his four-month probe into the NFL’s reaction to the incident, concluding the league “should have done more with the information it had.”
Other NFL players including Indianapolis Colts linebacker Josh McNary, who was charged with rape last month, and the Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy faced domestic violence investigations this season. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indefinitely suspended following a no- contest plea to reckless assault after he was accused of abusing his 4-year-old son. Rob Gloster, Bloomberg