Gene Haas says he’s not removing Kurt Busch from No. 41 car
Gene Haas, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, said Sunday that he won’t remove Kurt Busch from his No. 41 car.
Busch’s ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, has accused Busch of domestic assault at a race weekend in Dover, Del., at the end of September. Driscoll filed a claim with the Dover Police Department earlier in the week. In the claim, she says Busch slammed her head into the wall of his motorhome. According to the AP, the couple had broken up a week before.
Busch’s lawyer has called Driscoll’s claims a fabrication.
“He’ll be in the car until someone else pulls him out,” Haas told a small group of reporters before the Phoenix race. “I’m not pulling him out.”
Haas’ company, Haas Automation, is the sponsor of Busch’s car and will continue to be on the hood during the investigation, he said.
“I think we’re just going to let the police department do their job and try not to say anything that would compromise that,” he said. “We want an unbiased investigation and we’ll see how it all plays out.“
Is Haas worried about what the investigation might find?
“The facts I know, I’m not concerned about it,” he said.
The self-sponsorship angle of Busch’s car is important. With Haas providing not only the team but the financial backing, there is limited outside influence to remove Busch from the car. He was also the impetus for bringing Busch to SHR and expanding the team to four cars.
Haas is familiar with the legal system himself. He was arrested for tax evasion in 2006 and as part of a plea deal, pled guilty to a felony charge of tax evasion. He was sentenced to two years in prison and served 16 months before being released on probation.
Busch is currently 14th in the Sprint Cup Series points standings entering Sunday’s race at Phoenix. He qualified for the Chase thanks to a spring win at Martinsville but was eliminated at Dover.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
