by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News February 9, 2023
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch was convicted and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a Mexican prison for carrying a handgun on a family vacation to Cancun last month.
Busch was arrested on Jan. 27 by the National Guard after staff at an airport in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo said a 380 caliber pistol with six hollow-point bullets was found in his bag when it was being scanned at a terminal for a private aircraft.
Busch was fined $1,080 for the infraction (or about 20,748 pesos) and released. He will not have to return to Mexico to serve the sentence. The Mexico federal attorney’s office has since revealed that a local judge allowed conditional punishment for Busch in the form of bond.
NASCAR does not plan to punish the 37-year-old driver, Autoweek reported.
“We do have a Member Conduct policy,” said a NASCAR spokesman. “With the information we received, we did not feel that this warranted any disciplinary action.”
Busch will race in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 19, NASCAR said.
“Kyle will be at media day,” NASCAR told Autoweek. “As long as drivers are present for media obligations and respond to the questions (even if it’s no comment), they are not in violation of the driver agreement.”
A Mexican law firm cited by Law & Crime.com said that speedy sentencing “is applied in custodial sentences not exceeding 9 years or in others of a different nature.”
Busch said he mistakenly forgot the firearm was in his luggage and was detained “while the situation was resolved.” Busch said he wasn’t aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing the gun into the country.
“When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina,” Busch tweeted. “I apologize for my mistake and appreciate the respect shown by all parties as we resolved the matter. My family and I consider this issue closed.”
Busch is currently tied with Kevin Harvick for the most NASCAR cup wins among active drivers. He came in third during NASCAR‘s Clash exhibition race on Sunday.
Action . . . . Intelligence . . . . Publish
NASCAR’s Kyle Busch, convicted of gun charge in Mexico, will race in Daytona 500 added by Editor Two on
View all posts by Editor Two →