National Network to End Domestic Violence sends letter to NASCAR, criticizes Kurt Busch reinstatement

The National Network to End Domestic Violence has sent a letter to NASCAR condemning Kurt Busch’s reinstatement and making the driver eligible to participate in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Sent Monday by NNEDV president Kim Gandy, the letter was addressed to NASCAR chairman Brian France and calls for a stronger stance on issues of domestic violence and “to follow the lead of other major sports organizations and work toward ending all violence against women.”

Former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll accused Busch of grabbing her by the throat and smashing her head three times against a wall in his motorhome. The incident took place Sept. 26 at Dover International Speedway, the site of that weekend’s NASCAR race. Busch had ended a multi-year relationship between the two the week previous.

Driscoll sought and was granted a no-contact order in February against Busch, who called the allegations a “fabrication.” During testimony Busch denied assaulting Driscoll, but admitted to cupping her cheeks and in doing so her head “tapped” the wall.

In issuing the no-contact order, a Delaware Family Court commissioner determined Busch “more likely than not” committed an act of violence against Driscoll. Hours after the findings were released on Feb. 20, NASCAR indefinitely suspended Busch, just two days before the season-opening Daytona 500.

The Delaware Attorney General’s Office announced March 5 it would not pursue criminal charges against Busch due to lack of evidence and witnesses. The following week NASCAR reinstated Busch, who had missed three races, and granted him a waiver to maintain Chase eligibility.

“We find it troubling that just a few weeks after NASCAR suspended Mr. Busch for what it called the ‘serious nature of the findings and conclusions made by the Commissioner of the Family Court of the State of Delaware’ the organization, without explanation, changed its position.” Gandy wrote. “It is important to note that the protective order issued by the Delaware court, which served as the basis for your original decision, still remains in place today — in other words: nothing changed legally, yet NASCAR walked away from its stance against domestic violence.

“Additionally, it is important to recognize that the decision by the prosecutor to not move forward has no bearing on whether or not the assault actually took place.”

The NNEDV has started a petition on its website urging NASCAR to take domestic abuse more seriously.

In 2013, the sanctioning body did not penalize driver Travis Kvapil who was charged and convicted of domestic assault against his wife. A NASCAR spokesman said last month that France recognizes he erred in not disciplining Kvapil and in hindsight would have likely handled the matter differently.

“NNEDV is gravely concerned about the message you are sending to your drivers, staff, partners, teams, sponsors, and loyal fan base,” Gandy wrote. “In fact, the response from many fans has been to viciously attack the victim through social media and other online platforms. The driver himself used your reinstatement as support for the statement that he was ‘wrongly accused’ and took no responsibility for his actions -- putting the blame squarely on the victim.”