(Reuters) - NASCAR suspended 2004 Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch indefinitely on Friday amid a Delaware court ruling involving domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend.
The suspension means Busch will have to sit out NASCAR's premier event, the Daytona 500, on Sunday.
"Given the serious nature of the findings and conclusions made by the Commissioner of the Family Court of the State of Delaware, NASCAR has indefinitely suspended driver Kurt Busch, effective immediately," NASCAR said in a statement.
"He will not be allowed to race nor participate in any NASCAR activities until further notice."
In an opinion regarding the protective order he granted to Patricia Driscoll on Monday, Kent County Family Court Commissioner David Jones wrote Friday that Busch "more likely than not ... committed an act of domestic violence."
Driscoll, 37, said Busch grabbed her by the neck inside his motorhome at Dover International Speedway in Delaware on Sept. 26 and repeatedly hit her head against a wall.
Busch has denied the charges, testifying last month that he cupped Driscoll's cheeks but never smashed her head against a wall.