Another cool moment happened at Sonoma for Kyle, as he and his brother Kurt Busch finished No. 1 and No. 2 for the first time in their careers. Also caught up in the crash was Carl Edwards, as Joe Gibbs Racing had three cars involved in the crash.
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It proved not to be the sort of return to Daytona worldwide Speedway that Kyle Busch had been hoping for. We have absolutely no reason to have grass at any of these facilities. “The meetings that we have had with them have been really good, real productive”.
Busch’s Toyota slid through a grassy area near Turn 1 at Daytona in the Xfinity Series opener in February. Busch was injured when his vehicle spun and slid through the grass directly into a concrete wall.
Busch is back at Daytona for the first time since he broke his right leg and left foot when he crashed into a concrete wall the day before the season-opening Daytona 500.
Daytona responded by putting down about 200,000 square feet of asphalt, most of that in the area of Busch’s crash. “It is all in theory right now”, he said. “I think that leading the race at the end is the best place to be. Seeing those done here at Daytona was really good”.
Busch’s biggest quest, though, is to stay out of trouble on the track.
DIS actually built a new wall in the area where Busch hit, reconfiguring the wall into a position where skidding into it would be shorter and where cars will likely strike at a less dangerous angle.
“Just looks like the #2 got into my left rear and he got away unscathed and trashed everybody else’s stuff”, simmered Busch.
Maybe so, but not Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“We have a very fast auto … a winning auto”, Earnhardt said. “I don’t know about getting rid of the grass. If you get rid of the splitter, you save yourself a lot of trouble”.
Chitwood said that in order to replace grass, tracks have to consider water runoff and any requirements from local officials.
We are asking our fans and partners to join us in a renewed effort to create an all-inclusive, even more welcoming atmosphere for all who attend our events, the tracks said in a statement.
Busch ended the day – in his backup vehicle – 16th on the speed chart following the second practice. “Based on the last couple of years and what we saw this year, we’re not going to stop figuring out ways to improve the property”.
This is the second and final race of the season at Daytona global Speedway.
Qualifying for this weekend’s Cup race will be held on Saturday afternoon at 4.35pm local time (9.35pm BST) with the race itself scheduled for Sunday evening at 7.45pm (12.45am BST).
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“As safety remains at the forefront, ISC will continue to work with NASCAR to evaluate specific locations inside the turns for future safety enhancements”, ISC President John Saunders said. He made that request after Ryan Briscoes auto went airborne when he hit the grass in Fontana, California, during last weeks IndyCar race.
