Protection order against Kurt Busch upheld
The protection order against Kurt Busch has been upheld by a Delaware judge.
Busch was appealing the decision in favor of his ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll that came the week before the Daytona 500. After commissioner David Jones’ findings were released on Feb. 20, Busch was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR. He unsuccessfully appealed the suspension and ended up being suspended for three races.
Busch was reinstated before the Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix following a decision by the Delaware department of justice to not press criminal charges citing a lack of evidence.
Judge William J. Walls upheld the order. Jones had said it was more likely than not that Busch had committed an act of absue.
“The Court finds that the preponderance of the evidence in the Commissioner’s record warrants the entry of a protective order,” Walls wrote in his opinion. “By his own testimony, Busch intentionally chose to confront Driscoll in a cramped space between his bed and a wall when Busch could have easily entered his bed from the opposite side and avoided any confrontation.
“Busch acknowledged that he then placed his hands on Driscoll’s face and that his actions caused Driscoll’s head to hit the wall behind her head. Even ignoring any evidence Busch strangled Driscoll, and accepting the bulk of Busch’s testimony, Busch’s actions constituted an act of abuse.”
Driscoll had said Busch slammed her head against the wall of his motorhome multiple times on the night of the alleged incident in Dover, Delaware on Sept. 26. Busch said he didn’t do that and cupped her head in his hands and asked her to leave.
Driscoll said she had entered Busch’s motorhome after she got despondent texts from him following qualifying. The Sprint Cup Series coincidentally races at Dover on Sunday.
The protection order states that Busch must have no contact with Driscoll and stay 100 yards away from her.
Walls dismissed Busch’s claim that Jones incorrectly determined that Driscoll’s version of the events was more credible. The judge said Jones had evidence to support that determination, and the judge noted that Busch, by his own admission, “sometimes takes out his frustrations physically, such as by breaking mirrors off of rental cars.” The judge also ruled that even if Driscoll could have initially been considered trespassing, Busch “quickly forgave it” as he did not call security nor his staff and did not escort Driscoll out of the motorhome.
The judge also called “baseless” Busch’s assertion that because he believed Driscoll was an operative that he would not abuse her out of fear of retaliation.
Busch said he had reason to believe that Driscoll, who runs the Armed Forces Foundation and worked for a defense contracting company, was a trained assassin.
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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!
