Advertisement

Kurt Busch won't be criminally charged after domestic assault accusations

Suspended Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch will not be facing charges from the September incident with ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.

The Delware Department of Justice announced Thursday there was insufficient evidence to charge Busch with a crime. Driscoll had accused Busch of domestic assault on Sept. 26, saying he slammed her head against the wall of his motorhome. Busch had denied the accusations.

The statement is below:

The Delaware Department of Justice has carefully reviewed the complaint made of an alleged act of domestic violence involving Kurt Busch in Dover on September 26, 2014, which was reported to the Dover Police Department on November 5, 2014 and investigated. After a thorough consideration of all of the available information about the case, it is determined that the admissible evidence and available witnesses would likely be insufficient to meet the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Busch committed a crime during the September 26th incident. Likelihood of meeting that high burden of proof is the standard for prosecutors in bringing a case. For this reason, the Department of Justice will not pursue criminal charges in this case.

Busch was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR on Friday, Feb. 20, two days before the Daytona 500. The suspension came following the release of a Kent County commissioner's decision in the request for protection order hearing surrounding the incident. In the decision, which was written after the protection order had been granted for Driscoll against Busch, the commissioner said it was more likely than not that Busch had committed an act of abuse against Driscoll.

NASCAR said Thursday afternoon that Busch was still suspended.

Thursday, Busch released the following statement:

"I am grateful that the prosecutors in Delaware listened, carefully considered the evidence, and after a thorough investigation decided to not file criminal charges against me.  I wish to thank my family, friends, fans, and race team who stood by me throughout this nightmare with their unwavering support.  Thanks also goes to my legal team for making sure that the truth got out and was fully provided to the prosecutors.  As I have said from the beginning, I did not commit domestic abuse.  I look forward to being back in racing as soon as possible and moving on with my life."

The 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion immediately appealed NASCAR's suspension but lost both appeals. Regan Smith has filled in for Busch in the first two races of the 2015 season and is scheduled to drive his car again on Sunday at Las Vegas.

Earlier this week, NASCAR said Busch had agreed to terms to start the process of reinstatement. However, no timetable would be given on the process. In it, Busch would work with an outside expert who would report back to NASCAR.

The suspension is Busch's second NASCAR-mandated suspension. He was suspended for a race in 2013 after making threatening remarks to a reporter.

The testimony during the protection order hearing, which was held over multiple days in December and January, was contentious. Busch contended that Driscoll had told him she was a trained assassin and his legal team said Driscoll committed perjury, while Driscoll said Busch struggled with alcoholism and depression and had issues separating fact from fiction.

In response to no criminal charges being filed, Driscoll said in a statement that she is "disappointed that full justice was not served."

"At great risk to my personal and professional reputation, I have spoken candidly, at length, and on the record, to a variety of outlets in an effort to correct the distortions and sensationalism that have unfortunately marked the coverage of this painful time in my family's life," she said via a statement. "I would urge anyone covering this case to stick to the well-established facts. Giving further air to baseless and discredited accusations about me does a disservice to the public and reduces a serious matter for law enforcement into tabloid gossip."

- - - - - - -

Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!