NASCAR driver #41-Kurt Busch is returning to court as a hearing resumes on his ex-girlfriend’s request for a no-contact order. Patricia Driscoll claims that Busch assaulted her inside his motorhome at Dover International Speedway in September, and that she still fears for her safety.A Family Court hearing on Driscoll’s request for a no-contact order was to resume Monday. Her claims are also subject to a separate criminal investigation. Busch’s attorneys have denied the assault investigations and have tried to portray Driscoll as a scorned woman out to destroy Busch’s career after he ended their relationship.(Associated Press)
UPDATE: NASCAR’s Kurt Busch denied allegations of domestic assault during a court hearing Monday, saying that all he did was cup his hands around his ex-girlfriend’s face and tell her to leave. The denials came as he and his defense attorney, Rusty Hardin, re-enacted the events of Sept. 26. It was that night that Busch’s ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, alleged the driver slammed her head three times against the bedroom wall of Busch’s motor home that was parked at Dover Downs International Speedway. Monday was the third day of a hearing related to a protection order filed by Driscoll last year. Hardin spent most of Monday disputing Driscoll’s allegations and calling her credibility into question. He has said that Driscoll is a jilted ex-lover who is out to destroy Busch’s reputation. Hardin has argued that Driscoll showed up uninvited and refused to leave the night of the alleged assault. Several people testified during the hearing, including Busch, that Driscoll claimed she was a trained assassin who had killed people, including drug lords. While on the stand, Busch said Driscoll claimed that Jessica Chastain’s character in the movie “Zero Dark Thirty’ was partly based on her and other females working in counterintelligence and defense. When Hardin asked how he’d fare in a physical confrontation, Busch said he knew she could overpower him. “I knew she could take me down at any moment,” Busch said. Earlier on Monday, proceedings began with one of NASCAR’s chaplains, Nick Terry. Terry testified that Driscoll told him Busch had grabbed her by the neck and pushed her up against the wall, but that was it. He said that Driscoll asked he and his wife to look for marks or redness on her neck, but they found none. Busch’s assistant, Kristy Cloutier, also testified on Monday, saying that she had doubts about Driscoll’s claims. Busch would never harm another person intentionally, she said.The hearing resumes Tuesday morning.(Delaware News Journal)(1-12-2015)
UPDATE 2: The NASCAR driver known as “The Outlaw” testified Tuesday he believes his ex-girlfriend is a trained assassin dispatched on covert missions around the world who once returned home in a blood-splattered gown. Kurt Busch, appearing in court again over Patricia Driscoll’s request for a no-contact order, continued the push of his legal team to discredit his ex as a scorned woman out to destroy his career, portraying her as a character fit for a screenplay. Busch said Driscoll repeatedly asserted her assassin status and claimed the work took her on missions across Central and South America and Africa. She once left in camouflage only to return wearing a trench coat over a blood-flecked evening gown, he said. The testimony came a day after the driver said his ex-girlfriend told him she was a mercenary who killed people for a living and that she showed him pictures of bodies with gunshot wounds. During the hearing, which stretched over four days, neither Driscoll nor her attorney refuted testimony about her telling people she was a trained assassin.Busch told reporters outside the courtroom: “I’m just glad that the truth got told and we will wait for the commissioner’s decision.” That decision is expected in a couple of weeks. Busch testified Monday that he decided to end his relationship last fall because she was monopolizing his schedule and he needed to focus on racing.(Associated Press / Delaware News Journal)(1-13-2015)
UPDATE 3: Patricia Driscoll, ex-girlfriend of Kurt Busch, issued a statement Wednesday countering Busch’s claim that she is an assassin. “Over the past 7 years I have worked on a movie script with producers about a female CIA operative and her work on classified missions for the U.S.,” Driscoll’s statement read. “The script was bought by a couple different production companies. Over the years many people have heard the many variations the script has taken each time it was purchased by another studio. Mr. Busch has seen and given commentary to me on the latest script because some of the stories he told on the stand are straight from the script. Mr. Busch’s statements in court serve to confirm my belief that he needs professional counseling to deal with his alcoholism and issues of depression. Since day one I have stood by my statements that my motive was not greed but in fact concern for the man I loved. I have previously shared my concerns for Mr. Busch’s mental state since the onset of this case only to be dismissed by his legal team. Perhaps now his family and those around him recognize his fragile state and will provide him the mental health care and support he needs. He clearly believes fiction is reality and that’s all the more reason he needs help.”(Motor Racing Network)(1-14-2015)
