DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A compound fracture of his lower right leg will sideline Kyle Busch indefinitely from his ride in the Sprint Cup Series.
Joe Gibbs Racing announced the news Saturday night after Busch was transported to Halifax Health-Medical Center and underwent surgery after crashing during Saturday’s Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Busch also suffered a mid-foot fracture of his left foot in the accident.
Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton will replace Busch in the No. 18 Toyota in Sunday’s Daytona 500. JGR hasn’t determined an interim driver for the March 1 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway or future races.
The team said Busch would remain hospitalized overnight for observation after undergoing successful surgery.
It’s the second time Busch has had surgery in three months. A December operation to relieve inflammation in his left foot kept him in a walking boot for a few weeks.
Busch is the fourth Sprint Cup driver in the past four seasons to be sidelined because of injuries suffered in a racing crash. Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed two races in October 2012 because of a concussion. A fractured back in a March 2013 crash at Auto Club Speedway kept Denny Hamlin out for four races. Tony Stewart missed 15 races because of a broken leg from a sprint car crash.