NASCAR Cup Series

Stewart-Haas Racing names Regan Smith interim driver for Kurt Busch

Published Feb. 20, 2015 9:46 p.m. ET

foxsports

On the heels of NASCAR's indefinite suspension of Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing has called on NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Regan Smith to drive the No. 41 Chevrolet in Sunday's Daytona 500.

Smith has a history with SHR, as he filled in for Tony Stewart in August 2014 after the SHR co-owner and three-time Sprint Cup champion was involved in a sprint car incident that tragically claimed the life of 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr.

Currently driving for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, Smith is a former Sprint Cup regular whose lone Cup win came in the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

The team has yet to name an interim driver for Busch's No. 41 Chevrolet next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway and beyond.

Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing plan to appeal NASCAR's decision to indefinitely suspend him Friday following a Delaware court ruling that he "more likely than not" committed an act of domestic abuse against former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. Busch has not been criminally charged.