Joe Gibbs provides update on Kyle Busch’s condition

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kyle Busch is alert, awake and good spirits, team owner Joe Gibbs said Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

Busch underwent surgery Saturday night after suffering a compound fracture of his right lower leg and a mid left foot fracture after crashing into an unprotected wall during the Xfinity Series race. No additional surgeries are expected.

“Kyle, to be quite truthful, was kind of light-hearted and joking around with me and talking about wanting to get back in the car right away before surgery,” Gibbs said. “The major portion of what they did yesterday was his lower right leg where the injury was. They’re going to wait on his foot and it remains to be seen there what the situation is, but that will probably be taken care of. They said there’s not a rush on that.”

Overnight track workers installed a makeshift cushioning structure over the wall Busch struck. Daytona officials apologized for the lack of SAFER barriers throughout speedway last night, promising the installation of the protective system before its July race.

There is no timetable when Busch is expected to return. Joe Gibbs Racing brought in two-time defending Camping World Truck champion Matt Crafton to drive Busch’s No. 18 car in Sunday’s Daytona 500. Busch was slated to start fourth, but Crafton will have to drop to the rear due to the driver change.

“We were thrilled to get Matt,” Gibbs said. “He’s a veteran guy and we felt like it was the perfect fit. We sent him over to the race shop last night. He met our person in charge of seats and they sat in all of our cars and he’s real comfortable with Kyle’s seat. We brought him down last night and he climbed into the car today and he told me, ‘everything’s perfect.’”

Asked about who will fill Busch’s seat long-term, Gibbs was uncertain. The team was foremost concerned with Busch’s well-being, then finding a Daytona substitute. A replacement will be named later for next week’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

When Busch does return there will be no limit on the number of Xfinity Series and truck races he competes in. Gibbs called Busch a “racer” and feels he is at his best when Busch can dabble in events outside of Sprint Cup, which he does with great frequency.

“At one point there in his career, we did cut back quite a bit and it was one of the tougher years he had,” Gibbs said. “I think those conversations are obviously ones that you have, but I felt like in his case he just loves it so much and felt like it was something that really makes his happy, keeps him excited about life and you always wrestle with that.

“Racing is his life.”