NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch clarified in a statement Tuesday (Feb. 6) a recent incident in Mexico where he was caught with a handgun at the airport while attempting to return to the United States. Mexican authorities maintain Busch was arrested and charged.
Busch said he was detained on January 27 as he ended his family vacation in the country “while the situation was resolved. I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico.
“When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina.
“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.”
In a statement posted on the Fiscalia General de la Republican (Prosecutor General’s Office of Mexico) website, “The Public Ministry of the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) in Quintana Roo obtained a conviction of three years, six months in prison and a fine of 200 units of measurement and update equivalent to the amount of 20 thousand 748 pesos, against a person of foreign nationality” toward Kyle Thomas “B”. The amount of pesos equal about $1,082.38 US dollars.
Busch was “credited with full responsibility in the commission of the crime of carrying a firearm without a license and possession of cartridges for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces.”
The statement claimed Busch was arrested for this violation on Jan. 27.
“The detainee, who is originally from the State of Nevada, intended to travel to the United States of America,” the statement from Mexican authorities continued. “But when passing his luggage through the RX of the platform, a caliber pistol-type firearm was detected inside, a 380 with magazine stocked with six useful hollow point cartridges.”
The Agent of the Federal Public Ministry presented the charges to the Control Judge on Jan. 29 “who described the detention as legal, linked to the process and through an abbreviated procedure issued a sentence.”
Busch finished third in the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Feb. 5. The 60-race Cup winner joined Richard Childress Racing for this year after a long tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing.
About the author
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
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Wow, just wow!
Why did he take his family to Mexico in these troubling dangerous times? So
many other destinations. Did Sammy find a must go to beach to take pics of herself and splash them all over social media? Just stupid, imo.
He didn’t know he had a gun with him? Call me confused. If that is true, then it seems the item possibly wasn’t properly secured at home and forgotten about? If so, terrible. Just askin’.
….And the list can go on and on.
What a freaking jerk.
What the hell is Kyle Busch doing carrying around a gun?
If he is in that much danger maybe he should hire a couple of security guards.
Something tells me there is more to this story.
I’m betting most if not all of the drivers, and many others in NASCAR, carry. Participants in many types of sports carry firearms for protection. I’m not a fan of Busch, nor interested in being an apologist for him, but in this day and age, I can fully understand why a high profile personality would want and need to carry a weapon. Especially someone with such a polarizing personality as Busch.
I would have asked the same question if any driver had been caught doing the same. Perhaps you are correct and many do carry firearms but I didn’t think that was the case. If it is, perhaps others will speak up.
I’ll just say this; Every so often I hear about the TSA pulling a gun from some travelers carry on luggage and their excuse is always the same. “I forgot that was in there”, and my thought is always the same, “Then you must be an idiot”. To carry a gun and not know exactly where it is at all times is irresponsible.
It’s a good thing a six year old didn’t get possession.
CPS visit?
I wonder if his first statement was “Do you know who I am?”
Assume he was traveling via private aircraft, thus how he got the weapon into Mexico without being detected by US security? As a lowly peasant, I don’t know how security/boarding processes might differ for private flights.