Getty Image / James Gilbert
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch announced he was detained in Mexico before being sent back to the United States.
This came after he mistakenly flew to Mexico with a handgun, a legal handgun he has a concealed carry permit for in the United States but that didn’t matter in Mexico.
To paraphrase Walter from The Big Lebowski, this is not ‘Nam, there are rules. Anytime an American citizen is traveling internationally they must abide by the local rules.
Kyle Busch stated he had spent several days in Mexico on vacation and was flying back to the United States when the handgun was discovered.
Mexican authorities found his gun during the airport screening process. He was detained before being released back to the United States.
Kyle Busch’s statement says he “fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina.” Though it doesn’t specify what “the penalties” were in this situation.
Busch also publicly apologized for his mistake.
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) February 6, 2023
Kyle Busch appears to have released the statement after an article appeared in the local Cancun news which claimed he was ‘arrested’. And as Kyle’s statement reveals, there was no arrest made.
Naturally, Busch’s fans and NASCAR fans had jokes on Twitter in response to his statement.
Regular person on vacation: Man, what a great place to be 😁
Kyle Busch at Cancun: pic.twitter.com/o4A3HMkaHN
— NASCAR Sh1tposter (@thats_a_nas_car) February 7, 2023
One fan described it as “so basically he made an oopsie and everything got taken care of and now it’s fine.” That begs the question of what would’ve happened if a non-celebrity was in Kyle’s shoes.
Bring on the races!
A new black chevy, wild escape from a Mexican prison and a 3rd cup title! Gonna be a hell of a season #KFB #RowdyNation pic.twitter.com/3SUvpdiBrz
— scylentdeth (@scylentdeth) February 6, 2023
What’s next for Kyle Busch?
Kyle Busch is coming off an uncharacteristic off year in NASCAR. He finishes 13th in points in 2022 with 1 win and 8 top 5’s.
Busch is the 2015 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the 2018 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champ. He has 60 NASCAR wins and 355 top 10’s.
He’ll be looking to get back in the winner’s circle more than once in the 2023 season. And that all starts on February 16th at Daytona.