Kurt Busch’s indefinite suspension upheld in two appeals
NASCAR’s decision to indefinitely suspend driver Kurt Busch after a Delaware Family Court commissioner ruled that Busch more likely than not committed an act of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend was upheld twice Saturday.
NASCAR announced that the three-person National Motorsports Appeals Panel denied Busch’s initial appeal to the suspension.
A final appeals officer upheld NASCAR’s suspension Saturday night. Gulfstream President Bryan Moss made the decision, ending Busch’s already-slim hopes of racing today in the season opener.
“We are unhappy with the latest decision to deny our re-appeal, but we will continue to exhaust every procedural and legal remedy we have available to us until Kurt Busch is vindicated,” said Busch’s attorney, Rusty Hardin. “Along the way we intend to continue to call attention to the facts and witnesses that will shed light on Ms. [Patricia] Driscoll’s true character, motivations and history.”
Smith ready
Smith has been a last-minute sub before, filling in last year for Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen the morning after Stewart was involved in a fatal accident during a dirt-track race in New York. Smith also drove for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2012 after Earnhardt suffered a concussion. So Smith knows what he faces, replacing Busch for today’s Daytona 500.
It’s not an easy task, particularly considering Smith had only one practice session in the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet on Saturday. But that doesn’t mean Smith is going in with lowered expectations.
“I got an opportunity to hop in a race car that’s more than capable of winning the Daytona 500,” Smith said. “I want to make the most of that opportunity.”
This will mark Smith’s seventh career Daytona 500, with his last coming in 2013 when he finished seventh. So that experience, as well as his subbing background, should bode well.
“I don’t think anybody wants to be in the scenario where you have to sub under circumstances, whatever they may be,” Smith said. “With that said, if it happens, you want to make the most of that opportunity.
“There are a lot of people that have had their hands on that race car and have worked hard on that race car, and they deserve to still have the opportunity to go out there and win that race; and that’s what we’re going to try to do for them.”
Danica to the booth
Danica Patrick is scheduled to be full-race analyst for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Michigan this June, Fox Sports announced. The race will be televised on FS1. It will be the first time Patrick has been an analyst in her career.
This story was originally published February 21, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Kurt Busch’s indefinite suspension upheld in two appeals."