Driver Kyle Busch Issues Apology, Won’t Receive any Discipline From NASCAR After Arrest in Mexico For Forgetting Gun in Luggage

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch issued an apology and won’t receive any discipline from NASCAR after he was arrested in Mexico for forgetting that he had a gun in his luggage.

Busch said in a tweet on Monday that he has “a valid concealed carry permit” and that he made a mistake “by forgetting it was in my bag.”

A “caliber pistol-type firearm was detected inside .38 with magazine stocked with six useful hollow point cartridges” according to Mexican authorities.

Busch was ultimately fined by a judge the equivalent of almost $1,100 and sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

It is unclear if the prison time was essentially suspended like they often do for people who receive such sentences here in the United States, but Busch was able to return to the United States.

“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 declared in the statement.

NASCAR said yesterday that Busch will not be suspended or otherwise punished by the sanctioning body and he raced in the NASCAR Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum on Sunday, finishing third.

“We do have a Member Conduct policy. With the information we received, we did not feel that this warranted any disciplinary action,” a NASCAR spokesperson told Autoweek.

The Daytona 500 is set to be held next Sunday, Feb. 19, and Busch will be available to the media so he will likely face more questions in regard to the situation and perhaps he will clear up how he avoided jail time.

Autoweek added that the NASCAR spokesperson to them that “Kyle will be at media day. 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.”