10 times NASACR drivers got arrested

NASACR drivers who got arrested

Kurt Busch

10. Travis Kvapil

In October 2013, NASCAR veteran Travis Kvapil was arrested in Mooresville, North Carolina, after a domestic dispute involving his wife. He was charged with assault on a female and false imprisonment. Kvapil later accepted a plea deal that included probation, community service, and anger management classes. Though he kept racing, the incident permanently stained his reputation and became one of the sport’s most publicized off-track scandals.

9. Aaron Fike

Aaron Fike’s career collapsed in 2007 when he and his fiancée were arrested in an Ohio amusement park parking lot for heroin possession and paraphernalia. The shocking part came later — Fike admitted to using heroin on race days. It wasn’t his first run-in with the law either; he’d previously been arrested for DUI in Illinois. Once seen as a future NASCAR star, Fike’s addiction struggles cut his career short.

8. John Wes Townley

In 2012, John Wes Townley — known for his Zaxby’s sponsorship and wild crashes — was arrested for DUI after a car accident in Georgia. Though he returned to racing, his reputation suffered. Years later, in 2019, he was charged again for family-violence battery after a domestic incident. Sadly, Townley’s personal battles overshadowed his racing career and ended in tragedy with his death in 2021.

7. Tyler Dippel

Rising Truck Series driver Tyler Dippel saw his career stall in 2019 after being arrested during a traffic stop in New York. Police charged him with possession of a controlled substance after finding amphetamines in his vehicle. NASCAR suspended him immediately, though charges were later dropped. The damage was done — and Dippel’s once-promising career never fully recovered.

6. Derek White

In 2016, Derek White — the first Native Canadian driver to start a NASCAR Cup race — turned himself in for his role in a massive tobacco-smuggling ring involving over 60 people. Authorities said the operation moved thousands of kilograms of contraband across borders. NASCAR suspended him indefinitely, and his arrest became one of the strangest scandals in modern NASCAR history.

5. Tyler Walker

Former driver Tyler Walker made headlines in 2013 after leading police on a wild, multi-state high-speed chase across Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. When officers finally caught him, they found drugs and alcohol in his vehicle. Already suspended for substance abuse years earlier, Walker faced multiple charges and never returned to NASCAR. His story remains one of the most chaotic falls from grace the sport has ever seen.

4. Cody Ware

Cup Series driver Cody Ware was arrested in April 2023 in North Carolina and charged with felony assault by strangulation and misdemeanor assault on a woman. NASCAR suspended him immediately, and the case gained major media attention. The charges were later dropped, and Ware was reinstated by year’s end — but the episode left a lasting shadow on his image and his family-owned race team.

3. Jason White

On August 3, 2023, veteran driver Jason White was arrested in Huntersville, North Carolina, for driving while impaired. Reports indicated that his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit, prompting NASCAR to suspend him shortly after. White later apologized for his actions, but the arrest showed how even experienced racers can make costly mistakes off the track.

2. Gray Gaulding

In April 2024, Gray Gaulding was arrested and charged with domestic violence after an alleged altercation. NASCAR reacted instantly, suspending him indefinitely. The arrest halted Gaulding’s comeback efforts and highlighted NASCAR’s strict stance on off-track conduct. Once a promising underdog story, his career was again thrown into uncertainty.

1. Kurt Busch

At number one is 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch, who was arrested in August 2024 in North Carolina for driving while impaired. Police reported that Busch was speeding 63 in a 45 mph zone and registered a .17 blood alcohol level — more than twice the legal limit. It wasn’t his first controversy, either; he had previously faced a domestic assault investigation in 2014. For a former champion, the arrest shocked fans and served as a harsh reminder that even NASCAR legends aren’t immune to poor decisions.