NASCAR explains why Kurt Busch is still suspended

A NASCAR spokesman further clarified why Kurt Busch remains indefinitely suspended during an appearance Friday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The Delaware Attorney General’s office declined to charge Busch Thursday morning for domestic assault citing “insufficient” evidence. Patricia Driscoll, Busch’s ex-girlfriend, alleges Busch grabbed her and slammed her head against the wall three times in an incident last September in his motor home at Dover International Speedway.

NASCAR indefinitely suspended Busch on Feb. 20, two days before the Daytona 500, following a Delaware Family Court issuing a no-contact order against Busch. In the ruling, Commissioner David Jones determined “more likely than not” Busch “committed an act of abuse” against his former girlfriend. He and Driscoll had broken up in the week prior to the incident.

However, despite Busch not facing criminal charges, NASCAR stated Thursday afternoon and reiterated Friday that the 2004 Cup champion is still banned and must complete the terms and conditions the sanctioning body outlined in his suspension. Busch twice appealed the suspension, but lost both times.

“Our actions were based on what we heard from the Commissioner in the family court of the state of Delaware,” said David Higdon, NASCAR vice president of Integrated Marketing Communications. At the time, we knew there was a chance that the Attorney General could go one way or the other and our terms and conditions made it very clear he needed to understand that additional findings in criminal court may affect his eligibility for reinstatement.

“As the Department of Justice was very clear in their statement, they determined that admissible evidence and available witnesses would likely be inefficient to meet the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed a crime. They are very clear on that, just as the Commissioner in the family court was very clear that they were satisfied with the evidence that was presented at the trial that there was a case here.”

Many fans have taken issue with NASCAR suspending Busch though he was never charged with a crime. In 2013, driver Travis Kvapil was charged and later convicted of domestic violence against his wife, but NASCAR never punished Kvapil.

When asked by the hosts of The Morning Drive why Busch was suspended and Kvapil was not, Higdon explained NASCAR’s rationale.

“We learned a lot,” he said. “I think (NASCAR chairman and CEO) Brian France has been very clear: If we had to do that over again, we probably would’ve done it differently. There’s no doubt that our knowledge and experience in this case with domestic violence and what we’ve seen in the world at large has had an impact.

“We said moving forward that the standard was going to be higher. We watched the NFL. We began actually talking to experts in that area when the NFL was going through (the Ray Rice and Greg Hardy cases). We proactively made sure that we understood the issue; we learned about it long before we actually had the situation with Kurt Busch. We had already begun down the path to if we have a situation related to domestic violence we would definitely react differently than with Travis Kvapil.”

Higdon did say NASCAR officials have spoken with Busch since Thursday’s ruling and Busch plans to follow the guidelines NASCAR set forth to gain reinstatement. There is no timetable for when Busch’s suspension will be lifted and Higdon did not elaborate on the conditions Busch must meet.

In a statement released Thursday, Busch said he “looks forward to being back in racing as soon as possible and moving on with my life.”

Regan Smith has driven the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet in Busch’s absence.