Nov 13, 2005 3 min read

PHOENIX (AP) – Kurt Busch was detained on suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving after a confrontation with police near the track where the NASCAR champion is to race Sunday. Busch was stopped Friday night after trying to avoid another car and running a stop sign about 2 miles from Phoenix International Raceway, said Lt. Paul Chagolla

“As a result of the roadside investigation the deputy did take Mr. Busch into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol,” said Chagolla, a Maricopa County sheriff’s spokesman.

Chagolla said the deputy smelled alcohol on Busch, but the driver refused to perform standard field sobriety tests. Busch did submit to a field breath alcohol test, disclosing the presence of alcohol.

The deputy drove Busch to the raceway, where a sheriff’s facility is located, to administer another breath test but the machine there failed. The deputy then decided to cite Busch for reckless driving and he was released, Chagolla said.

Busch was spotted driving about 60 mph in a 45 mph zone, Chagolla said. A deputy tried to pull Busch over but there was some delay, Chagolla said. When he did stop, Busch was argumentative and uncooperative, Chagolla said. The deputy then called for a supervisor.

“This is Maricopa County and our streets are not to be used as raceways,” sheriff Joe Arpaio said. “He ought to confine his speeding to the racetrack. And I don’t like anybody being abusive to my deputies – I don’t care who they are.”

Busch, the reigning Nextel Cup champion, is in Phoenix to race in Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500. Busch, eighth in points for the season, qualified 17th for the race. His team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said: “It’s a traffic ticket as far as we know.”

Busch’s truculent behavior on and off the track has gotten him in trouble with NASCAR and other drivers in the past.

The 27-year-old driver from Las Vegas was punched in the face by Jimmy Spencer for trying to deliberately wreck him. He was called “an arrogant punk” by Kevin Harvick and is booed by fans who dislike his aggressive driving.

Busch got into trouble with NASCAR again at Darlington in May when he refused to go where he was told after returning to the track following a crash. He then was called into the pits for a penalty and responded with expletives directed at NASCAR officials over his car radio. He also tossed a water bottle that hit the NASCAR official in his pit.

NASCAR officials said his behavior was not “befitting of a champion.”