NASCAR Driver Kurt Busch Suspended for Domestic Violence

NASCAR has suspended one of its most popular drivers after a court decision regarding domestic abuse.

ABC News reports that Kurt Busch was indefinitely suspended just two days before the Daytona 500, which is stock car racing's equivalent to the Super Bowl. The suspension is the result of a ruling in a Delaware court where the judge said that Busch certainly choked and beat his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll.

The ruling was the result of Driscoll seeking a restraining order against Busch.

The ruling said that Busch had choked Driscoll and thrown her head into the wall of a trailer that Busch was using as a home at a race at the Dover International Speedway in Sept., 2014. In addition to being unable to race, Busch is also not allowed to attend or participate in any official NASCAR functions.

The harsh punishment for Busch seems to be an effort by NASCAR to avoid the hurricane of bad publicity that battered the NFL when it was revealed the league did not properly punish Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for knocking his fiancee unconscious in an Atlantic City elevator.

Lending credence to this line of thinking is the fact Busch is the first driver to ever be suspended for domestic violence, despite the fact that in 2013, a different driver was also found guilty of domestic violence.

Busch has already begun the process of appealing NASCAR's suspension decision so he will be able to race again. That appeal will be evaluated by a three member panel that could consist of former NASCAR drivers, promoters, or executives.

During the appeal, both NASCAR and Busch can call witnesses to bolster their case, but there will not be any lawyers present. The appeals panel also has the power to make anyone involved with NASCAR in an official capacity testify.