NASCAR suspended Kurt Busch indefinitely on Friday
RELATED: NASCAR suspends Kurt Busch indefinitely
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Stewart-Haas Racing named Regan Smith as the interim driver for the No. 41 Chevrolet in the season-opening Daytona 500 on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX) in the wake of the suspension of SHR driver Kurt Busch on Friday.
In a team release, the organization says that an interim driver for next weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and subsequent races has not been determined.
Earlier in the evening, officials from SHR said that the team was "finalizing our plans" for the Daytona 500.
NASCAR announced it has indefinitely suspended the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion following "the findings and conclusions of the Family Court of the State of Delaware."
"We understand NASCAR's position regarding Kurt Busch and accept their decision," SHR executive vice president Joe Custer said. "We are in the midst of finalizing our plans for the Daytona 500 and we will announce those details as soon as we're ready."
Kent Co. (Delaware) family court commissioner David Jones had granted Patricia Driscoll, Busch's former girlfriend, request for a protective order earlier this week. Driscoll contended that Busch had smashed her head again the wall of his motorhome during a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Dover International Speedway in September.
Busch, 36, had continued to compete throughout the investigation and hearing. He was scheduled to start 24th in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
SHR began the No. 41 team prior to the start of the 2014 season and team co-owner Gene Haas hired Busch as the team's driver.
Busch won once, at Martinsville, and qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He finished 12th in the series' final points standings. He is a 25-time winner in the series.
Smith filled in for SHR last summer at Watkins Glen when he subbed for Tony Stewart following Stewart's involvement in a fatal sprint car accident at a nearby dirt track the night before a Sprint Cup Series event.
Smith finished as the runner-up in the NASCAR XFINITY Series last season and has one Sprint Cup (Darlington in 2011) win in 172 premier series starts.
Stewart-Haas Racing also fields Sprint Cup entries for co-owner/driver Stewart, 2014 champion Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick.
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