Two-time NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Busch apologizes after he was arrested and detained for bringing a handgun into Mexico while vacationing in January with his wife.
According to the Mexico Prosecutor General’s office, a handgun was found in his bag at the airport as he and his wife Samantha were leaving the country.
Busch, 37, considered ‘this issued closed.’ He was arrested on Jan. 27 and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison and fined $1,100, but the statement from Mexico Prosecutor General’s office does not explain how Busch’s sentence would be handled.
On Sunday evening he finished third in NASCAR’s Clash exhibition race. He admitted in the statement that he was unaware of the Mexican law that forbids the possession of a weapon in the country without approval.
‘I have a valid concealed carry permit from my local authority and adhere to all handgun laws, but I made a mistake by forgetting it was in my bag,’ he said in the statement.
‘Discovery of the handgun led to my detainment while the situation was resolved. I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico.’
Busch, who left Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the 2022 season, is entering his first season with Richard Childress Racing.