Kurt Busch loses final appeal of indefinite suspension

Kurt Busch loses final appeal of indefinite suspension

Feb. 21, 2015

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Kurt Busch’s final attempt to win reinstatement failed Saturday night, when NASCAR’s final appeals officer, Bryan Moss, upheld Busch’s indefinite suspension from all NASCAR activities.

Earlier in the day, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel had denied Busch’s appeal of an indefinite suspension imposed by NASCAR on Friday in the aftermath of a finding by Family Court of the State of Delaware that Busch had likely committed domestic abuse against his former girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll.

On Monday, the court had issued an Order of Protection of Abuse against the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.

Busch appealed the panel’s decision to Moss as the final step in the process, and the hearing convened at 7:30 p.m. in the International Motorsports Center. Moss’ decision closes the door on any prospect Busch might have had of racing in Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1 p.m. ET on FOX).

Busch has now exhausted all his options under the NASCAR Rulebook and his indefinite suspension remains intact. Moss determined that the original suspension fell within scope of NASCAR’s guidelines and was appropriate to the situation.

Busch’s brother, Kyle Busch, also will miss the Daytona 500 after suffering a broken leg during a 10-car wreck in Saturday’s Alert Today Florida 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

At least one of the two brothers has raced in every Daytona 500 since 2000. Sunday’s event will be the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race without a Busch brother since the 35th race of the 2001 season, at Atlanta.