Life has been tumultuous for Kurt Busch over the last few months. The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion was found driving drunk and was arrested back in August. Having pled guilty to DWI (driving while intoxicated), Busch was sentenced to community service and a 60-day suspension for a year. The officials forfeited his license and kept him under unsupervised probation throughout this period.
However, the former racer seems to be ready for a comeback, and through a recent video on X (formerly known as Twitter), he hinted at the same. Busch captioned the video,
“I know things have been quiet on my social lately. The last 90 days was my priority and a reflection period, working on myself. I appreciate all the love & care you’ve shown, let’s get back to having fun.”
Seated in front of an array of photographs, posters, and diecasts, the 2017 Daytona 500 winner said,
“What's going on, race fans? I know it's been a while, but thank you so much for the support over the years and even this year with everything going on. It's great to roll down memory lane with everyone's cards, photos, and the letter you guys write...thank you. Anytime I take my hat off in the driver intros, it is to say thank you race fans.”
How exactly Kurt Busch is about to “get back to having fun” or which "driver intro" he was talking about is not clear yet. Before getting arrested, Busch was serving as a brand ambassador for Monster Energy and an adviser to 23XI Racing, a two-car Cup Series team jointly owned by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin and the legendary basketball player Michael Jordan.
A 2005 story repeats for NASCAR veteran Kurt Busch
This was not the first time that Kurt Busch was involved in a DWI incident. Back in 2005, when he was the reigning Cup Series champion, the 46-year-old Las Vegas native was “detained on suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving” about two miles from Phoenix Raceway. (as per ESPN)
Reports say that Busch was driving at 65 mph in a 45 mph zone. When pulled over, Busch did not cooperate with the deputy and denied taking the standard field sobriety test. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in a statement,
"This is Maricopa County and our streets are not to be used as raceways. He ought to confine his speeding to the racetrack. And I don't like anybody being abusive to my deputies. I don't care who they are.”
Busch did apologize to the sheriff’s court for his behavior later on, saying,
“I regret the incident that occurred. It is important to understand that this citation is not alcohol-related. I want to apologize to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department for my actions."
At the time, Kurt Busch was fresh out of Roush Racing (now RFK Racing) and was set to join Penske Racing South (now Team Penske) as the driver of the No. 2 Dodge, replacing Rusty Wallace.