Kurt Busch Suspended for Last 2 NASCAR Races

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kurt Busch was suspended by his team Sunday for the last two races of the NASCAR season after police cited the reigning Nextel Cup champion for reckless driving.

Busch will be replaced in Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway by Kenny Wallace. He also will miss next week's Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla.

"It's the last straw for Roush Racing," said Geoff Smith, president of Roush Racing. "We're officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists effective today."

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When asked about Busch's arrest and confrontation with police, team owner Jack Roush said it was no longer his problem.

Busch has a history of trouble with the sport's sanctioning organization for run-ins on and off the track with drivers and NASCAR officials.

The latest episode came Friday night when he was stopped near the track after trying to avoid another car and running a stop sign, police said. The police report said the officer who stopped Busch smelled alcohol on the driver's breath, although Busch was not cited for that. A breath test was not conclusive because the device failed.

Smith said Busch, who is under contract to the Roush team through the end of the season, will not be allowed to drive for anyone else in 2005.

"He would have to get permission and we would be very reluctant to give it," Smith said. "It's very offensive to us that he chose to take on the arresting officer the way he did verbally. And then the fact there was alcohol, even in the smallest way, involved."

Busch is eighth in points this season and qualified 17th for Sunday's race. The driver already had been given his release from Roush Racing and plans to join Penske Racing South next season, taking over the No. 2 Dodge from retiring Rusty Wallace.