THE CAR WAS SUCH AN AMAZING PIECE OF ENGINEERING THAT HE JUST HAD TO DRIVE IT AT 128 MPH

And in a residential neighborhood at that!

NASCAR STAR'S EXCUSE FOR DRIVING 128 MPH
By Jerry Reynolds

The Car Pro Weekly
September 1, 2011

You have to give a passing nod to NASCAR driver Kyle Busch's defense as he had his day in court for his 128-mile-per-hour speeding ticket this week. In a lengthy account from the Virginian Pilot, they explain how Busch blamed a car that cried to be driven fast.

Busch's attorney, Cliff Homesley, mentioned a lot of mitigating reasons why the judge shouldn't throw the book at his speed-loving client, who watched the proceedings in a conservative business suit that basically screamed regret and contrition. I had to take note of my favorite excuse: The car he was driving, a rare Lexus LFA, was such an amazing piece of engineering, well, how else could you help but crank it up to triple digits? Writes the Pilot:

Homesley began his defense by showing the judge a picture of the Lexus LFA that Busch was given the chance to drive for a day as racer for Toyota. Homesley noted that there were only 87 made at the time and they were all hand built in Japan. He read from Car & Driver's review about how the LFA "has a seductive shape'' and that "the cockpit swallows you up like a hot dog in a leather and carbon-fiber bun.'' And on and on. The point he was making was that here was a person who drives race cars for a living, and he has the opportunity to drive it for a day. Just think if anybody had that chance, wouldn't they want to open it up on the highway to see what it could do?

What could he do, indeed?:

Homesley went on for a half hour and covered a lot of ground, especially considering this was all about a speeding ticket. The prosecutor didn't have to say much: All he noted after Homesley spoke was that Busch was clocked going 128 mph through a residential area, a rejoinder to Homesley's argument that Busch's NASCAR racing skills would have made all the difference when it came to controlling the car.

In the end, Homesley succeeded: A jail sentence was suspended and although Busch's driving privileges were suspended for 45 days, his license wasn't taken away for months or years.