NSCS: Kyle Busch Speaks About Daytona Accident, Still No Timetable on Return

Kyle Busch spoke to the media for the first time since his wreck back in February at the Daytona International Speedway. Busch provided some very-good details on his thought process during the spin that had injured him. He also spoke very highly about the reactions made by the tracks and the sanctioning body on safety enhancements that that were made following his wreck.


Since the wreck, Busch mentioned that he loved the positive responses from his team, sponsors, fellow competitors, NASCAR and the fans. He also thanked his wife Samantha on the work she has done over the last three months while getting ready for the birth of their son.


On the details about the wreck, Busch says he was awake the entire time throughout the on-track incident. His initial plan was to push Erik Jones through a gap for the lead. He also mentioned, while walking through the media with a video, that Jones never touched his car while he started spinning. Once the air had spun Busch, and once he knew the car wasn’t going to slow down as he neared the wall, that’s when he knew that he was in trouble. He stated how there were no marks or bruises above his knees.


With the amount of work put into these cars on keeping the driver safe from hard impacts, Busch said everything worked and performed exactly as it should have. He had the opportunity to see the car when he visited the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina. One of the things he took notice right away was the amount of compression the cars have. NASCAR is still looking over and investigating the wrecked racecar.


Still recovering from the wreck, no timetable has been given for his return. Right now Kyle is on a week-by-week basis and expects to be on a day-to-day basis very soon. Since NASCAR has a ban on testing, Busch has plans to test a late model just before making a return to Sprint Cup Series competition. Once he gets comfortable in a Sprint Cup Series car, Busch plans to run some NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series races.


Since the crash in February, Daytona International Speedway announced plans to install additional SAFER barrier all around the 2.5-mile oval. Since that announcement, other tracks have also made similar announcements regarding additional SAFER barrier at their facilities. Busch said the announcements are encouraging to him and other competitors.

Brett Winningham
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