Kyle Busch pulled over

[dalejrfan]

RICHMOND, Va. - NASCAR racer Kyle Busch, the 20-year-old wunderkind of the Hendrick Motorsports franchise, will appear before a judge after being ticketed for reckless driving in a Richmond suburb Wednesday night.

The misdemeanor charge carries up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and a driver's license suspension, said Sgt. Don Lambert, with Henrico County police. The charge also calls for a mandatory court appearance; Busch, who lives in Mooresville, N.C., will appear in Henrico County General District Court on May 23.

Lambert said the incident happened at 10 p.m. near Richmond International Airport, a few minutes outside the city.

Neither speed nor alcohol was a factor, though Lambert would not provide further details.

"The officer observed his driving behavior consistent with reckless driving," he told The Associated Press late Thursday night.

Busch, who began racing at age 12, grabbed his first series victory on May 14, 2004 at Richmond International Raceway. He went on to four more victories and completed the year with five poles, five wins, 16 Top 5 and 22 Top 10 standings, becoming the youngest top rookie in series history at age 19.

Tuesday, Busch again appeared at the Richmond raceway for the Virginia kickoff of "Focus on Driving," Sprint Nextel's attentive driving education program.

He's not the first in the Busch racing family to run afoul of the law.

Officials banned brother Kurt Busch from two races and authorities ordered him to perform 50 hours of community service after he became belligerent with Phoenix police during a 2005 traffic stop. Police charged him with reckless driving.

Busch later apologized. Henrico County authorities said the younger Busch was cooperative.

[dalejrfan]

RICHMOND, Va. – NASCAR driver Kyle Busch said Friday that he was ticketed for reckless driving after he “chirped” his tires while pulling out of a gas station and into a fast-food restaurant next door.

Busch received the ticket Wednesday night in a Richmond suburb. The misdemeanor charge carries up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and a driver’s license suspension, said Sgt. Don Lambert, with Henrico County police. Busch will appear in Henrico County General District Court on May 23.

Lambert said the incident happened at 10 p.m. near Richmond International Airport, a few minutes outside the city. He declined to provide details.

However, Busch offered his version to reporters at the Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee on Friday. He said the parking lots of the gas station and the Kentucky Fried Chicken are not connected, so he had to pull onto the street to get to the restaurant.

Bush said he could see traffic approaching after a light changed “so I pulled out of the gas station, I chirped my tires, went about 20 feet at less than 10 mph and turned into the KFC, which was right next door.”

He said he stopped in the KFC lot to allow some pedestrians to pass, then continued to the drive-through window.

“As I was in the drive-through, I had completed my food order before seeing any blue lights behind me,” he said. “That’s when I saw the blue lights and just stayed put and waited for them to come up to my window.”