Kyle Busch suffers leg, foot fractures after crash, will miss Daytona 500
Kyle Busch suffered a right lower leg compound fracture and a left mid-foot fracture after a scary crash at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, NASCAR announced. He underwent surgery and there's no timeline for his return.
Busch will miss Sunday's Daytona 500, and will be replaced by Matt Crafton.
Related: Daytona International Speedway to install SAFER barriers throughout track
Busch was racing in the Xfinity Series Alert Today Florida 300 and hit an interior concrete wall hard after a multiple-car crash with less than 10 laps to go. He spent several minutes on the ground after being taken out of his car, and was in visible pain, pointing to his right leg, which was reportedly placed in an air cast.
Here's video of the crash, with Busch's car on the left, as he goes off the track and slams into an unprotected barrier:
The crash had NASCAR drivers and fans calling for more SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers, a type of foam protection on walls that help minimize damage in collisions:
I'm genuinely furious right now. Any wall in any of the top 3 series without safer barriers is INEXCUSABLE. It's 2015.
— Regan Smith (@ReganSmith) February 21, 2015
These drivers deserve safer barriers everywhere. It's very expensive but we have to find a way.
— Jeff Burton (@JeffBurton) February 21, 2015
"We should have had a SAFER barrier there today, we did not. We're going to fix that," said Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III.
NASCAR executive vice president Steve O'Donnell said:
We always have these conversations with the racetracks. The racetracks know that and work together with us on the SAFER barrier recommendations. We will accelerate those talks with the tracks. We want this sport to be as safe as possible, for not only our drivers but everyone who participates in this sport and the race fans as well.