Kyle Busch Apologizes for Driving Loaner Lexus 128 MPH Down Carolina Road
- Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:11am by
Scott Baker
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AP
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch apologized repeatedly Thursday for showing a “lack of judgment” in driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone in a borrowed Lexus.
Busch was cited for careless and reckless driving, and speeding following a Tuesday stop. He was driving a nearly $400,000 bright yellow Lexus.
In his scheduled media session at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Busch apologized several times for the joyride and said he would not make the mistake again.
“I’m certainly sorry that it happened,” he said. “All I can do is apologize to the public, my friends, my fans and my sponsors. I’ll look at this experience as a learning experience and move forward.”
The citation shows that Busch allegedly told the officer who stopped him the Lexus was “just a toy,” but seemed to realize the flippancy of that remark Thursday.
“It wasn’t a toy, it’s a high performance vehicle,” Busch said. “It should be driven with caution. Obviously I didn’t have caution and I had a lack of judgment.
“There’s probably reason why on the TV commercials that they always show at the bottom, ‘Professional driver, closed course.’ Mine was not that. Again, I apologize sincerely. All I can do is make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Lexus parent company Toyota sponsors the Joe Gibbs Racing team that Busch drives for, and the 2012 Lexus LFA was loaned to both Busch and Denny Hamlin this week. Hamlin tweeted a picture of the car the day before Busch was ticketed with the post, “If u see me today in ur rear view driving this Please move!!”
The LFA is hand-built in Japan, and only 87 of the 500 scheduled vehicles have been built.
AP
Of the 87 completed, only 20 are in the United States and all are privately owned. Lexus has two cars available as demos, and Busch was driving one of them. The cars are usually made available to potential buyers at test tracks on weekends, but that did not accommodate Busch and Hamlin’s schedules so one was made available to them, said Lexus spokesperson Nancy Hubbell.
“He returned the car, nobody got hurt and for that we’re grateful,” Hubbell said. “We know that he is definitely remorseful. He’s owned up to it, and we appreciate that. I think people recognize that this was an issue that the car didn’t go fast all by itself, and the driver was testing its capabilities.”
NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs found no amusement in Busch’s adventure.
“It’s a serious issue, that’s an important statement for us, this is serious,” Gibbs said, declining to say if Busch will be punished but acknowledging the driver won’t be suspended.
Because NASCAR does not require competitors to have a valid driver’s license, the sanctioning body said it would not be disciplining Busch. According to information from the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, a conviction could cost Busch his driver’s license for 60 days.
There was mixed reaction in the garage area Thursday about Busch’s infraction.
“I’ve probably been guilty of the same thing myself, just didn’t get caught,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who then backed off ever driving 128 mph on a public road.
“I don’t really know if I got that fast. I didn’t know we had enough straight road in North Carolina to get going that quick. Apparently there’s a piece somewhere.”
Five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson was also sympathetic to Busch. While not condoning the speed, Johnson said high performance vehicles are built for drivers who “stand on the gas.”
“We as drivers aren’t necessarily wired the same,” he said. “It’s tempting, especially when we have the skill sets that we do as drivers and you get a high performance car and you just want to see how it stacks up. I guess everybody that has a high performance car stands on the throttle at some point.
“I’m not trying to justify what he did, but we can all look at ourselves in the mirror and know that we’ve wondered what it felt like to stand on the gas pedal.”
But Kevin Harvick, who has been openly feuding with Busch of late, and Ryan Newman were not as forgiving.
“I think some people are their own worst enemy when it comes to being responsible as a person or as a businessperson or anything that comes with life’s responsibilities,” said Harvick, who added he tends to go under the speed limit and hasn’t driven irresponsibly in a street car since he was 16.
Newman said Busch should have known better.
“We‘re supposed to be professional race car drivers and by being professional race car drivers we don’t make stupid mistakes like that on the road,” Newman said. “That’s the way I look at it.”
Gibbs seemed dismayed that all the progress Busch has made off the track has been overshadowed by the speeding ticket. Busch, winner of two races this season, is ranked third in the Sprint Cup standings heading into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 in what’s yet another strong season for the 26-year-old.
But much of the spotlight has been in the maturity he’s shown this year in dealing with adversity. That hadn’t changed Thursday, as Busch answered all the questions asked of him, but he stayed on message with buzz words such as “apologize,” ”lack of judgment,“ and ”learning experience.”
“The way he’s handled things for that last year, I kind of felt like he’s really made a great effort,” Gibbs said. “Having said that, I’m hoping that somehow out of this, something positive will come out of it. In other words, it may be there are different organizations that reach out to young people driving, reckless driving.
“For me and for all of us at Joe Gibbs, Racing, I‘m hoping there’s something that maybe I can do going forward to make it, hopefully, something positive.”
Kurt Busch, who was cited for reckless driving in 2005 outside of Phoenix International Raceway, said his younger brother had learned his lesson.
“All of us drivers have a responsibility with being role models for what we can teach our young out on the roadways,” he said. “There are posted speed limits, there are rules, there’s laws. It’s what we have to do. He knows he was in the wrong.
“Whatever comes of it, he’s got his court date and things will be ironed out, he‘ll learn from this situation and he’ll be a better person.”
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Comments (83)
heavyduty
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:14amUnfortunately this is the trend of celebrities. They break the law and little if no punishment at all. What happen to the equal thing in the law. I think they should suspend him for the rest of the season. Also he should have to attend a driving school for the rest of the season. Maybe, just maybe this would teach him about the dangerous situation that he put himself and others in.
Report Post »94ZR1
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 11:40amThe best ad for Toyota yet
Report Post »Anybody who thinks this all isnt planned I have a bridge to sell you
plasticsguy
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:13amMany moons ago I was driving my 68 Dodge R/T down a deserted highway when a state trooper in a Ford 428 decided to chase me. No contest but the radio and the road block managed to stop my progress. Clocked at 145 in a 55. Ended up with a ticket for 70/55. We all did stupid stuff when we were young. No one hurt and the episode was never repeated. Live and learn.
Report Post »hempstead1944
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:07amAnd what do .you expect from a race car driver…..come on folks, it is what he does, what he is …. not suggesting that we give him a pass but…..get real.
Report Post »BYEBYEBAMA
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:04amNot mentioned is the fact this was a two lane, curvy stretch of road, and 2 schools, an elementary and a junior high school are on the stretch he was driving. Not surprised, he is a dirty driver on the track as well. JGR should have suspended him but the name of the game is MONEY. He will eventually end up killing someone either on the track or on a public highway. He is a punk kid, even though he is 26 years old and that his wife was in the car with him wasn’t mentioned either!
Report Post »Rashomon
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:54amI make it a point to never drive faster than I can see.
Report Post »Ron Burgundy
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:50amI posted 156 mph on a street bike, 128 mph in a car is ….. well for a girl. Something about going fast really gets my heart rate moving. its the best natural high on the market. ( I let off the throttle then looked down and 156mph was on the speedometer)
Report Post »Michael600r
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 11:55amTake it east there squid! :)
Report Post »JEDhbo
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:39amHe’s NOT apologizing for going 128 in a 45 zone…….He’s trying to excuse himself for having gotten caught! As for a comment by a previous poster, I’ll have to respectfully disagree. He isn’t describing the “size of his member”, he’s explaining how close together his eyes were and that he was unable to clearly see what he was doing and additionally was unable to see exactly how dangerous his current activity was and also could not see the ramifications of said action(s). It’s this type of mentality that seems to be pervasive in the NASCAR circuit. Before someone takes umbrage and jumps on me; “pervasive” would suggest that “most”, but not “all” of NASCAR’s prima donnas are of this ilk. Remember…….in the immortal words of Jim Varney, “if your eyes are too close together you can’t judge your damn distance”.
Report Post »starman70
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:35amHe’s young, relatively immature and very cocky. He’s an extremely good driver on the track but obviously not very responsible on the open road. This sets a bad example for all his young fans.
A good toung lashing from the judge, a very heavy fine and a spanking from Joe Gibbs might teach him something.
Report Post »jim
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:34amFor him that’s like going, what, 30mph?
Report Post »Gil N Mechanicsville
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:32amFor Kyle Bush, doing 130mph is like the rest of us doing 60mph. The kid has the reflexes of a cat. That said, why does the melody of “Thunder Road” keep going thru my head?
Report Post »DatabaseSue
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:21amNot true – he is used to going in circles without animals, etc We have more ‘real’ driving – try driving thru Chicago – says 55 but everyone goes 75-80 – now that is real life experience
Report Post »Justus39
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:25amBusch is wrong and will pay the same penalty as other drivers and that is the way it should be.As far as Harvick,I believe him as much as I do a rock speaking.I can personally attest to many Nascar drivers that were stopped for speeding but their names were not printed in the paper. I can also attest to the fact they keep secret what is said to them in the Nascar hauler. I can also attest to the fact that I see police cars come by my home which is in a residential area running 100mph plus and they dont get stopped,so!
Report Post »dragon1969
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:18amIf that were me a “ non celebrity” the officer would have drug me out of the car , tazed me several times, then hit me repeatedly with a club. then i would have been arrested. He is not above the law. put his butt in the clink.
Report Post »tinydd
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:18amKyle Busch? I… can’t…. drive….55!
Report Post »Levinite
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:04amClearly, it’s a slow news day. He wasn’t drunk and no one got hurt; next.
Report Post »INTHEBEGININGGOD
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:04amKyle is arrogant where ever he goes, he’s a danger on and off the track Now. I don’t want to offend any Dale Earnhart Sr fans but he too was arrogant. They both had and have a attitude I’m untouchable. If I get bumped I‘m coming back harder and Nascar gave Sr all the breaks while other’s pay the price. And their giving Kyle the same breaks.. As far as the Lexus, I do Not drive or ride in foreign cars. I stopped watching Nascar on TV because the commentators all give preference just to Hendricks and Childress and Gibbs all the time. Plus Nascar are on the same schedule as other stations they all go to commercials the same time. Does baseball go to a break when a team are having a rally on runs or does football go to a break if a team are getting first downs every forth down, NO Nascar are not filling the stands like they use to. I have loads of Nascar diecast and paid top price for them and they are all worthless on e-bay. You almost have to pay the buyer to take them off your hands. I don’t miss it.
Report Post »TwoLazy
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:56amJeeeze folks, NASCAR was born at 128 MPH going usually with an offical chase car close behind. However, I’d personally like to have seen him in a 426 Hemi rather than the rice burner.
Report Post »As for me, I’ve never, never driven over …what’s the speed limit? .. oh yeah .. 70 MPH in my whole life …
LovinUSA
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:51amKyle always manages to make a bigger jerk out of himself than the the ones before, he knew better, this thing really looks more like a promotion for him and the car, which is probably what it was, never the less, thank God no one was in his way. He should call Obama, he’ll smooth things over for him.
Report Post »JCoolman
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:29amHe shouldnt be reckless. But, you can’t a better advertisment. I like the car and the driver. However, Kyle…you are not on the track…slow down.
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:14amGrew up in the wide open spaces of West Texas. Of course that was a long, long time ago. Our standard running speed was between 80-100 mph. However, the State Troopers played “dirty” way back when and hid behind those big ole’ billboard poles. Good for us, they did, `cause they saved more than this life by stopping some of our sober, normal speed fests.
This young man in the article is a “professional driver”. He crossed the lines, so to speak, in his arrogance. It was by the GRACE OF GOD neither he nor anyone else was injured. I do think he owes his teammates, the profession, the Lexus folks and his fans about a year’s worth of community service without accompanying publicity. He probably owes the man who stopped him, his life.
Report Post »sonseeker
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 11:54amlighten up….my best ti cket was for 144 but remember Mt has not always had a speed limit…also, I have always known the top end of every vehical I have owned…learned that from my dad, an otherwise law abiding citizen.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:10amBeing from Wisconsin, I’m a Matt Kenseth fan. This guy is kind of a punk. But there’s a few of those in every sport. I’d attack the guy, but I did basically the same thing when I was younger. In more than one car. There‘s few guys out there that haven’t well exceeded the limit when they were young. He did it, he’s being fined, ticketed, and may lose his license for a while. At the very least it‘s going to cost him a lot of money when it’s all over. He’s apologized, let it go.
Report Post »quicker
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:06amAin`t it a shame,that with the restrictor plates they will never beat Awsome Bills Daytona and Taladaga speed record.
Report Post ».45peacemaker
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 6:22amlack of judgement?, i think he threw that out the window when passed the speed limit sign! this was blaten disregard for anything but his own thrill.
Report Post »pappy1
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 6:50amAnd wow what a thrill it must have been. Life begins at 130mph!!! and only gets better as you mash that peddle even further.
Report Post »You should try it yourself sometime.
Rampart
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 6:04am128 mph is NOTHING in the LFA…A momentary lapse in judgement and some bad luck. I sincerely doubt that any red-blooded Americrat could resist matting the pedal on the bypass a time or 2 if handed the keys to an ultra-rare supercar.
I don’t like KB at ALL, but I say cut him some slack. Make him pay a big fine, do some Community Service with a photo-op for orphans, sign some autographs–Move on.
Report Post »wooldrich
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:36ampretty much thinking most people who have driven have had to step on it … maybe not 128 but geesh, this is a ridiculous story that seems to be way over-blown imho
Report Post »Dustyluv
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:09amWay to go speed racer. I donrt like the guy…Jr. Rocks!
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:22amAgreed, Jr is the best, like his father was…this is one case of where bad judgment came into play, he does seem genuine in his apology, yet there is a price to pay, so he needs to accept that and get on with life while making sure this lapse does not happen again…he is fortuate no one was hit by him during his joyride…so he also needs to count his blessings.
Report Post »Gold Coin & Economic News
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 6:46amOnly 128? What a sissy. That $400K Lexus does nearly 200, come on!
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 6:59amHe was probably excited about getting to do something other than make 4 left turns.
Report Post »khandahar&jalalabad
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:43amHe’s describing the size of his member in that photo.
Report Post »khandahar&jalalabad
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:45amKryle Douche sucks GO 48!
Report Post »KICKILLEGALSOUT
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:58amGet im boys! He is from Las Vegas anyways. Only Jr. is allowed to drive that fast in those parts!
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:19amHe’s not in high school, he’s old enough to think about “what might happen if…..”. Really, really stupid.
Report Post »Please-sir-I-want-some-more
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:35amSorry, but if it was me, I would have had a ticket for going 200 MPH :)
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:53amKyle slowed down because he thought the pace car came out.
Dude, you’ve got the coolest job, leave the streets to the peasants.
Report Post »GODSAMERICA
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:00amI’m sure that he has accepted responsibility for his actions and knows that he was wrong. Imagine that, I guess even race car drivers aren’t perfect either!
“I think some people are their own worst enemy when it comes to being responsible as a person or as a businessperson or anything that comes with life’s responsibilities,” said Harvick, who added he tends to go under the speed limit and hasn’t driven irresponsibly in a street car since he was 16.”
Well maybe I was wrong, according to Harvick he (Harvick) is perfect unlike anyone else in this world. Of course if I was to believe that he NEVER has driven irresponsibly since he was 16, then I would have to be willing to buy the Golden Gate Bridge as it crosses over the ocean in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:04amI’m not a Kyle Butch fan, but come on, he owned up to it and got a ticket. Thankfully he didn’t hurt anyone. Move on.
#14, he’s the man.
Report Post »pappy1
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:16amIs it possible that instead of refering to “the size of his member” he was instead refering to the level of the combined conciousness of all the “Kyle Haters” that can‘t see he’s the best thing to happen to nascar since Dale sr.?
Report Post »bulletsinthegun
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:47amLol
Report Post »mmckinley
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:22pmI am amazed he didn’t try to blame it on Harvick.
Report Post »Ronko
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 1:21pmBusch is clearly a moron and an *****, not to mention what he did was completely stupid. He should be punished by NASCAR but he won‘t he’ll just get a slap on the wrist.
Report Post »Patrick Henry II
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:52pmYah right, lol. A racer being sorry for going fast. If true I might lose respect. I was doing 135 just the other day. It felt good.
Report Post »Down2TheC
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:55pmHow can you help but take that thing to the red line. But at least find a 55 zone.
Report Post »101
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:08pmHe’s a trained professional…whats the big deal?
Report Post »hud
Posted on May 28, 2011 at 10:11amTO Stealerships: See this guy coming, lock your cars and loose the keys, he wreaks more cars in a year than most do in a lifetime.
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