Even in NASCAR, where strange things seem to happen often, the story of one of the sport’s most polarising stars, Kurt Busch – known around the sport as The Outlaw – and his now-former partner, Patricia Driscoll is one for the ages.
Busch and Driscoll had been in a long-term relationship until late last year when Busch ended it. Apparently not happy – or responding to what she thought were texts from her former flame that seemed to indicate depression – Driscoll journeyed from her home to Dover Speedway in Delaware, uninvited.
What exactly happened that night in Busch’s motor home is up for debate. What cannot be mistaken is that Driscoll entered Busch’s accommodation without an invite. There was some sort of conversation, and the driver repeatedly asked Driscoll to leave, admitting, later, to cupping her by the cheek and her head making light contact – “tapped” was the word he used – with a wall. Eventually, Driscoll left.
Then the real problems started, and things got pretty strange. Driscoll applied for a no contact order, claiming Busch had assaulted her. Witnesses for Busch, including a chaplain involved, testified that they saw no marks on Driscoll that would support her story. Driscoll’s witnesses said otherwise.
It seemed, from the outside, that this was a case of the fury of a woman scorned, and wanting revenge on Busch for ending a relationship. Driscoll’s social media rampage – and an interview on network television – since the ruling was handed down make me wonder if she’s in this to really destroy Busch’s career. She claimed he suffers from depression and alcoholism.
But wait, this isn’t your regular domestic violence/ugly separation case. Not by half!
Under oath, Busch made the extraordinary claim that Driscoll, who owns Frontline Defense Systems, a military consultancy company in Washington D.C, which, according to their website is ‘a customized services company specifically designed to support the U.S. Govt. and commercial companies engaged in the Global War on Terror.’
Interestingly, Driscoll starred in a YouTube video called Pocket Commando, where she was featured shooting weapons, and said "There's a lot of sensitive things that I work on," Driscoll said. "Most of them you're never going to see." Curious choice of words. At the height of this story, Driscoll, citing a copyright issue, pulled the video. Amazing timing, right? Coincidence. Absolutely not.
In addition, Driscoll runs a charity for returned servicemen (for a time, Busch was one of the Armed Forces Foundation’s ambassadors), was also a government assassin. Under oath! He claims that she departed a function once, and returned in a blood-spattered evening gown. On the stand, he called her a “bad-ass,” and before you assume that Kurt Busch is just crazy, his motorhome driver agreed with this assertion. Driscoll had apparently told him the same thing. He testified to that in court.
Regardless, Driscoll was granted a ’no contact’ order this week, and Busch was ordered to undergo counselling for anger issues. His legal team suggests that new evidence has been brought to light, providing information that contradicts Driscoll’s version, and they would like the Delaware family court to reopen the hearings. Included amongst that, is testimony that Driscoll suggested to close friends and family that she was indeed a covert agent working on behalf of the government. One such witness was apparently threatened not to talk. So it’s the Outlaw versus the Assassin!
For the record, Driscoll maintains that such an idea is “ludicrous” and that Busch is getting the real world confused with a screenplay she’d written, which he proof-read for her during their relationship. There have been external questions raised about Driscoll’s defence consultancy work.
Busch’s attorneys are also asking the Attorney General’s Office to examine whether Driscoll has violated the Delaware criminal code by tampering with a witness. Busch’s team maintain she has repeatedly tried to harass and intimate witnesses who may come forward with evidence that will destroy her credibility. As if the credibility of both parties isn’t at least a little damaged already! Meanwhile, Kurt Busch prepares for this weekend’s Daytona 500, the biggest race on the NASCAR calendar.
I mean, it sounds pretty outrageous, right? Like something from a bad Steven Seagal movie, but there’s another line of thinking here. Why would someone lie under oath about something like this? Anyway, it’s not just Busch. His motorhome driver says something similar, and the latest word from Busch’s legal team suggests there are others who agree with that assertion.
So maybe they’re all suffering from mental health issues? A possibility, but an unlikely one. Busch certainly has issues with anger, and has been fired or moved on from some questionable incidents, including the abuse of an ESPN reporter at Homestead Speedway a few years back, and anger could have spurred Busch on to do something along the lines of what Driscoll is suggesting he did. But what about everyone else? It seems like there are too many people who firmly believe – and some state it under oath – that Driscoll has some sort of secret private life for it to be just a figment of Busch’s own imagination.
What started as a simple, fairly run-of-the-mill domestic violence-type case has spiralled into something far more complicated, and it’s strangely compelling. With neither side seemingly backing down, it’s hard to say what on earth might happen next in a saga that’s just about provided a new twist with each passing day.
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