Feb. 22--REPORTING FROM DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Kyle Busch sustained a broken right leg and a fractured left foot during the NASCAR Xfinity Series opener Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, a race won by 21-year-old Californian Ryan Reed.
Busch, who mainly competes in NASCAR's premier Sprint Cup Series, sustained the injuries when his car slammed into an inside retaining wall. Busch's No. 54 Toyota was involved in the second multi-car crash of the race with about nine laps left in the 120-lap event.
His car skidded at high speed across the infield in front of the front straightaway and collided with the wall at high speed.
Busch, awake and lying on his back, was treated by medical personnel with attention being paid to his right leg, which was placed in a splint. Busch then was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital.
Joe Gibbs Racing also said in its statement that veteran driver Matt Crafton will drive the No. 18 Toyota in the Daytona 500 in Busch's absence. An interim driver for other races is to be determined.
Six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson wished Busch the best on Twitter and wondered why the retaining walls aren't constructed better.
"Man I hope @KyleBusch is alright... It's beyond me why we don't have soft walls everywhere," Johnson tweeted.
Most retaining walls at speedways that NASCAR uses have SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers. The inside wall that Busch's car slid into, head-first, was not a SAFER barrier.
Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway, told reporters that the track "did not live up to its responsibility today. We should have had a SAFER barrier there. We did not. We're going to fix that right now."
He said packs of tires were being installed Saturday night in front of 850 feet of hard wall hit by Busch in time for Sunday's Daytona 500. After the race, SAFER barriers will be installed "on every inch at this property," Chitwood said. "This is not going to happen again."
Neither Busch nor his older brother Kurt will drive Sunday in the Daytona 500, NASCAR's crown-jewel event. Kyle Busch qualified fourth for the Sprint Cup Series opener.
Kurt Busch was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Saturday after a family court judge in Delaware found that it was "more likely than not" that Busch committed domestic violence against an ex-girlfriend last fall. The elder Busch brother has denied the allegations.
Reed's victory was his first in the Xfinity Series. The cable company replaces Nationwide Insurance as the title sponsor for NASCAR's second-tier series.
Reed, a Bakersfield native who was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 17, drives the No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, and with a push from teammate Chris Buescher, Reed passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap for the victory.
Buescher finished second and Ty Dillon was third.
UPDATE
4:25 p.m.: This report has been updated with news that Kyle Busch will not race in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
5:35 p.m.: This report has been updated with a statement from Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway.
6:40 p.m.: This report has been updated with the injuries sustained by Kyle Busch and the announcement of a replacement driver for the Daytona 500.
This report was first published at 4:05 p.m.
