Before we convict Kurt Busch

WATKINS GLEN, NY - AUGUST 10: (R-L) Kurt Busch, driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet, walks on the grid with girlfriend Patricia Driscoll during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2013 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
WATKINS GLEN, NY - AUGUST 10:  (R-L) Kurt Busch, driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet, walks on the grid with girlfriend Patricia Driscoll during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2013 in Watkins Glen, New York.  (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUGUST 10: (R-L) Kurt Busch, driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet, walks on the grid with girlfriend Patricia Driscoll during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2013 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Kurt Busch is in trouble again.  The former NASCAR champion has been known to show his anger on many occasions; he’s been fired from high profile NASCAR teams on at least two occasions after angry outbursts. And NASCAR has fined him on more than one occasion.

This time however, it’s much more serious.

The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season started out with a great deal of promise for Busch. The newly signed driver with Stewart-Haas Racing won early in the season and made NASCAR’s Chase.  He also made a high profile appearance outside of NASCAR taking on the racing double on the Indy 500 and the Coke 600 at Charlotte in May.  He finished 6th at Indy garnering Rookie of the Year honors.  Photos from that day featured not only Busch but also the same pretty blonde woman along with a young boy that had been seen with him for some time.  I could see them from the press box at Charlotte Motor Speedway as they exited a helicopter in the frontstretch grass. The couple held hands and Busch waved to the crowd who were enthusiastically applauding him.  The little boy was close by; all were smiling. Busch, who was married for five year and suffered through a tumultuous divorce, seemed to finally be in a good place, on top of the world.  MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.