NASCAR pledges tougher abuse stance

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NASCAR chairman Brian France says no action will be taken against Kurt Busch while allegations of domestic assault are investigated, but promised a tough stance if he is found guilty.

Dover police announced last week that Busch was the subject of allegations stemming from the Cup race weekend in late September, although no charges have yet been filed.

The issue of domestic abuse in professional sports has attracted increasing scrutiny this year due to a number of high-profile cases, most notably the video footage of NFL player Ray Rice striking his then-fiancee in an elevator. The former Baltimore Ravens running back received an indefinite suspension from the NFL, and other professional leagues have since clarified their stance on domestic abuse cases.

NASCAR driver Travis Kvapil was not penalized by the series earlier this year when he entered a plea bargain in a domestic assault case involving his wife, but France said that the hardline stance taken by other sports will now be reflected by NASCAR if appropriate. But while other sports have suspended players while similar investigations are ongoing, he insisted that Busch will not be prevented from racing at this weekend's Homestead finale.

"What's not lost on us by any stretch is the rightful heightened awareness on domestic abuse and violence, and so you can expect our policies to reflect the understandable awareness that that's not going to be tolerated," France said. "The past of how any league might have handled some of this is one thing. It's pretty clear when you see what's happening around the country and in some of the other leagues that our policy will reflect the significance and importance that it should.

"We are watching that [Busch] case carefully. It's under review by law enforcement and others, and they have not made a decision on that regarding Kurt.

"Until they make some judgements on that investigation, it wouldn't be right of us to just intervene before they've even got the investigation completed. We'll respect their process. It's in their hands."

TEAM MONITORING SITUATION

Earlier this week, Democrat Congresswoman Jackie Speier wrote to both NASCAR and Busch's Stewart-Haas team demanding his suspension until the investigation has been completed.

"[NASCAR's] response to these serious allegations has been totally inadequate," she wrote. "Your decision to let Mr. Busch continue to drive is inconsistent with previous disciplinary actions taken for lesser offenses, and it sends a clear signal to drivers that owners do not take these violent actions seriously."

Stewart-Haas issued a statement on Friday declaring its support for its driver while the investigation is ongoing.

"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," the statement read. "We are monitoring this situation closely and will let the authorities continue with their thorough investigation.

"At this point in time we are taking Kurt at his word and his status with the team is unchanged."