NASCAR Cup Series champion and one of the most liked personalities in the sport today, Kurt Busch’s run-ins with the law have somewhat been the 46-year-old’s undoing as he goes through phases of his post-competition life.
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The former 23XI Racing driver was caught driving while intoxicated (DWI) back in August 2024 when police personnel found the former Cup Series champion with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.17.
Caught initially for overspeeding in a 45mph zone, cops administered a breath test after Busch exhibited initial signs of alcohol use. The test results confirmed their speculation, with Busch’s blood-alcohol concentration over 2 times the 0.08 limit in North Carolina.
The latest in this saga of the Las Vegas, Nevada native’s run-in with the authorities comes after he has pleaded guilty to the charges. In exchange for him pleading guilty, Iredell County, N.C. court prosecutors have dropped reckless driving and speeding charges against the former Stweart-Haas Racing driver.
This means Kurt Busch will be serving a reduced 60-day suspended jail sentence for 12 months during which time frame he will also be on unsupervised probation.
The former #45 Toyota Camry driver will also be undertaking 24 hours of community service and paying a community service fee as a result of his repeated offense. Needless to say, he also has to surrender his driver’s license in light of recent events.
“I’m committed to making amends”
With the guilty plea allowing Busch to have a chance at avoiding jail time if he manages to keep his chickens in line during his probation period, the former Cup Series champion expressed regret towards the decisions he made earlier this year.
Notable NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass gave an update on Busch‘s outlook during the complete scenario, with the 46-year-old stating, “I take full responsibility for my recent DWI arrest and deeply regret my actions.”
“I voluntarily completed a pre-trial assessment and followed all recommendations ahead of my court date. I’m committed to making amends, ensuring this never happens again, and returning to racing with a renewed focus,” Busch added.
An interesting anecdote from Busch’s statement as shared by Pockrass was how he mentioned his desire to return to racing. With his fateful 2022 concussion that has relegated him to the sidelines in the highest echelon of stock car racing, it remains to be seen if Kurt Busch could be seen behind the wheel of a junior series in the future.
