nascar

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch had his driver’s license suspended for 45 days Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to going 128 mph in a 45-mph zone in May.

Busch pleaded no contest to reckless driving – a charge his attorney fought to lessen – in North Carolina District Court. Judge Thomas Church also sentenced Busch to one year of unsupervised probation, 30 hours of community service and fined him $1,000. Church gave Busch a 30-day suspended jail sentence, meaning that should Busch breach the law in the next year, he could face that jail time.

Busch can continue to race even without his license. NASCAR does not require its competitors to have a valid state driver’s license.

After walking out of the courtroom, Busch said the resolution meant “closure.”

“I’m here today in person to do it myself to accept responsibility for my actions,” Busch said. “We move on and try to go win a truck race at Bristol.”

The penalties could have been worse. He faced losing his license for a year for driving more than 75 mph over the speed limit. He could have faced 60 days without a license had both the speeding and reckless driving charges been applied.

Instead, the judge sentenced Busch only for the speeding charge after his attorney, Cliff Homesley, documented recent cases in Iredell County where drivers facing similar or worse charges than Busch received lighter sentences because of plea agreements – including a driver ticketed for driving 128 mph on Interstate 77. Homesley said the district attorney’s office offered no similar plea deal to Busch. Homesley said that Busch was not being treated fairly.

“What I want to emphasize to the court – we aren’t here to ask the court to do anything special to Kyle Busch,” Homesley said “We aren’t asking Kyle Busch to be treated better than the people sitting in court. What we’re asking the court today is treat him just like anybody else in the courtroom would be treated.”

Before sentencing, the judge asked Busch if he had anything to say.

“I’ve come in here, and from the beginning, I take full responsibility for my lack of judgment,” Busch said. “It (driving that car) was the opportunity of a lifetime. It (occurred) at the wrong place in the wrong time. I can go on forward this day and learn. Try to make sure and help teenagers and children to learn how to drive and not go through the consequences I’m going through.”

Busch was caught going 128 mph in a 45-mph zone on May 24 on Perth Road, a two-lane road that winds by residential areas and has signs stating the speed limit is 45 mph at regular intervals. Busch drove a 2012 Lexus LFA, which sells for nearly $400,000. The car had been loaned to him and teammate Denny Hamlin.

SoCal Says: It sounds as though Kyle Busch is truly sorry for his actions. For that we commend him. We think he should consider turning in the Lexus for a lifted truck. In case he didn’t get the memo; girls love lifted trucks, scars, tattoos and dirt bikes. Sports cars are for dudes stuck in the 80’s who watch Magnum P.I. re-runs and still rock mullets.