Court decision: 'More likely than not' Kurt Busch committed 'act of abuse'

After granting Patricia Driscoll a protection order from Kurt Busch, the commissioner assigned to the case issued an decision on Friday.

It comes a day after Busch's attorney, Rusty Hardin, filed a motion to re-open the hearing regarding the protection order, which stems from an alleged assault on Sept. 26. Driscoll accuses Busch of slamming her head against the wall of his motorhome, an accusation he denies.

In the conclusion of Kent County commissioner David Jones' decision, he says it's more likely than not that Busch committed "an act of abuse" against Driscoll by "manually strangling" her "with his left hand on her throat while placing his right hand against her chin and face, causing her head to forcefully strike the interior wall" of his motorhome.

The court is satisfied that the evidence presented at trial established that it is more likely than not that on September 26, 2014, Respondent committed an act of abuse against Petitioner by manually strangling Petitioner with his left hand on her throat while placing his right hand against her chin and face, causing her head to forcefully strike the interior wall of Respondent's motor home, thereby recklessly causing physical injury to Petitioner and recklessly placing Petitioner in reasonable apprehension of physical injury. The Court further finds that Respondent's actions on that occasion constituted conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening or harmful.

Busch has said he cupped Driscoll's face in his hands after she came to visit him uninvited that Friday night in Dover. He also testified in the hearing that she was a trained assassin, a claim that she denies by saying Busch can't separate fact from fiction.

The criminal case is still with the Delaware attorney general's office and no decision has been made regarding criminal charges. Busch is expected to compete in the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Earlier in the week, NASCAR said that it was awaiting "the full findings of the Commissioner and any actions by the Attorney General of Delaware related to the allegations against Busch."

You can read the entire decision below.

Kurt Busch Patricia Driscoll PFA Decision

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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