Kahne faces battery charge, lawsuit

By David Poole , McClatchy Newspapers

Last update: December 18, 2007 - 8:51 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne faces a Jan. 8 arraignment for a misdemeanor charge of battery and, as of Tuesday, a lawsuit filed by a security guard over a Nov. 16 incident at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The guard, Archibald Hutchinson, alleges he sustained "severe physical injuries" when Kahne shoved him to the ground when Hutchinson tried to keep Kahne from entering the driver/owner motor home lot without credentials. The incident left "Hutchinson injured not only physically, but emotionally as well," said Russell Dohan, the guard's attorney.

Hutchinson was taken to the infield care center and, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Detective Tony Aquino of Homestead police, treated for minor bruises and abrasions. The suit seeks damages in excess of $15,000.

Kahne drives for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Team President Rick Russell said in a statement Tuesday that the "alleged action in this case is not consistent with the Kasey Kahne we know. We support our driver "

Police were called to the track after the incident. Kahne was briefly handcuffed at the scene but was released on his own recognizance and allowed to drive in the season's final Cup race two days later.

In the guard's statement to police, Hutchinson said he and a deputy sheriff stopped a golf cart attempting to pass through the gate. Hutchinson said the two men in the cart were told they needed to produce credentials: "One of the occupants (Kahne) of the vehicle became belligerent and refused to produce ID."

Hutchinson said Kahne got out of the golf cart and "without saying another word shove(d) me with great force from which I landed on my back and left shoulder on the entrance pavement."

In a statement to Aquino, Kahne's brother, Kale, who was the second man in the cart, said, "One guard got in front of Kasey and grabbed him and said that you are not going anywhere. Kasey pushed his hands off of him. The guard lost balance and fell to the ground."

Statements from four witnesses, each a law enforcement officer, support Hutchinson's accusations.