U.S. Congresswoman calls for Busch to be suspended

(Editor's note: Look, we are well aware that domestic violence is a serious issue. And we are not trying to make light of the allegations that were brought against NASCAR driver Kurt Busch by his former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. However, there is a formal legal process in place, and in our opinion, it is way inappropriate for a sitting member of Congress — a law making body, not a law enforcement nor reviewing one — to compromise a pending legal investigation. Our hope is that the truth, whatever it so happens to be, is revealed and justice ultimately prevails. Sadly, this Congresswoman has used her privileged place as an official elected by law abiding citizens to impede the legal process, and render judgment on a matter she has no business judging. Despicable, if you ask us!)

From the Sporting News — A U.S. Congresswoman is calling for Kurt Busch to be suspended from Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway while allegations of domestic assault are being investigated.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) sent a letter to NASCAR President Mike Helton and Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart and Gene Haas calling the allegations by Busch’s former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll “horrifying."

SI.com first reported Speier’s letter Friday morning. Sporting News also obtained a copy of the letter.

The Dover (Del.) Police Department is investigating the allegations by Driscoll, who said that Busch grabbed her by the face and repeatedly smashed her head against the wall inside his motorhome at Dover International Speedway in September. Busch has denied the allegations through his attorney, calling them a “complete fabrication."

Driscoll didn’t make the allegations until last week, about six weeks after the alleged incident.

Reports of the allegations surfaced last week and NASCAR officials released a statement saying they were “actively gathering information from all parties, including law enforcement authorities and Stewart-Haas Racing."

Speier wrote in her letter: “Despite the severity of the criminal allegations against Mr. Busch, I am disappointed to see that NASCAR and Stewart-Haas Racing have not taken any action. Your response to these serious allegations has been totally inadequate."

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said Friday that NASCAR would not take action until the investigation is complete.

"We are watching that case carefully and it is under review by law enforcement and others and they have not made a decision on that regarding Kurt, so until they make some judgments on that investigation, it wouldn't be right of us to just intervene before they've even got an investigation completed," France said. "So that's our position. We'll respect their processes. It's in their hands."

Stewart-Haas Racing also released a statement Friday.

"The allegation made against Kurt Busch is one Stewart-Haas Racing and its partners take very seriously," Executive Vice President Joe Custer said. "We have spoken to Kurt in depth regarding this matter and he has vehemently denied that it happened and assures us there is no truth to it whatsoever.