Kyle Busch will return to the seat of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star race.
After injuring himself in the Xfinity Series opener at Daytona, Busch has yet to race in NASCAR’s top series. David Ragan had been filling in for Busch until Erik Jones drove the car last weekend at Kansas Speedway.
The All-Star race is unlike the rest of the events on the NASCAR schedule as it includes numerous segments which result in cautions and breaks for the drivers but Busch said that had no influence on his return to the sport/
“No, I don’t believe that’s the reason. I think as far as my physical shape as to working out and whatnot, I’ve been doing therapy and whatnot three, sometimes four, five days a week. I feel like I’m well ready to go, that the cardio aspect is there, and the physical aspect of it is all there. I don’t foresee there being any setbacks in that regard.”
Busch will need to get accustomed to the car quickly. After the All-Star race the longest race of the year, the Coca-Cola 600, takes place the following weekend at Charlotte.
Jones will be on hand in case Busch has any problems but the veteran says he plans to be in the car full time.
“I mean, my plan is to obviously get in the car and to do all on-track activity each weekend. I’ll admit we’ll have Erik Jones on standby in case anything happens or in case I have any issues that I need to come out during any event. That’s just a precautionary thing. I plan to be in the entire time.”
