Retired NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch Pleads Guilty To DWI In North Carolina

Taking responsibility. Back in August, retired NASCAR Cup Series driver Kurt Busch was arrested for DWI in Mooresville, North Carolina after being pulled over for going 63 in a 45 mph zone. Once officers made contact with Busch, he allegedly “had red glassy eyes” and smelled of alcohol. Busch admitted that he had been drinking before the traffic stop. Court records reportedly show that the former NASCAR driver was found to have a .17 BAC at the time of his arrest, and his license was revoked for 30 days. And earlier this week, he reached a plea deal on the charges. According to TMZ, Busch pled guilty on Wednesday to the DWI charge, while prosecutors agreed to drop charges of reckless driving and speeding that he was also facing. The court sentenced Busch to a 60-day suspended sentence and 12 months unsupervised probation, which means the driver won't serve any additional jail time on the charges as long as he keeps his nose clean while he serves his probation. Busch was also ordered to complete 24 hours of community service, and must surrender his drivers license. It's not the first time Busch has been in trouble for drinking and driving. Back in 2005, he was pulled over in Maricopa County, Arizona on suspicion of DUI, and ultimately ordered to complete 50 hours of community service. The 46-year old made his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series back in 2000, and won 34 races in NASCAR's top series over his 22 year career. He was the 2004 Cup Series champion, but had a turbulent career for his first decade in NASCAR as his temper landed Busch several suspensions over the years for both on-track and off-track issues. But Busch seemed to turn things around, and rehabbed his image to become a respected veteran and fan-favorite later in his career. Unfortunately, he had his racing career cut short back in 2022 while driving for 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan and fellow driver Denny Hamlin. While driving the #45 car at Pocono Raceway in June, Busch suffered a concussion during a crash in qualifying, and was forced to step out of the car as he sought to recover. But Busch was never medically cleared to return in 2022, and in October he announced that he would be stepping away from full-time competition. And the next year, he closed the door on returning to NASCAR when he announced that he would be retiring for good from Cup Series competition. It was a sad end to such an incredible career, especially when he had made such a turnaround with his public image and with fans, who were hoping to give Busch the proper retirement celebration that he deserved. Since retiring, Busch has continued to work with 23XI Racing as an advisor to drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, though it's not clear what role he still has with the team after his latest legal issues. Regardless, hopefully he'll be able to put this behind him now and get back involved with NASCAR - or whatever he wants to do now that he's officially retired.