Kyle Busch goes the distance at Charlotte

Kyle Busch finished 11th Sunday at Charlotte.
Kyle Busch finished 11th Sunday at Charlotte.
Kyle Busch finished 11th Sunday at Charlotte.

Kyle Busch was happy Sunday night. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had just survived his biggest challenge this season, competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race is NASCAR’s longest and a test for not only machines but drivers as well. It was made even harder for Busch as it was his first full Sprint Cup race back since a three month layoff.

Busch was injured in the season opening NASCAR Xfinity race at Daytona International Speedway. He suffered a compound fracture of his lower right leg and broken left foot. Busch missed the Daytona 500 and a total of 11 Sprint Cup races. His No. 18 JGR Toyota was driven by Matt Crafton at Daytona, then David Ragan for nine events, and 18-year-old Erik Jones at Kansas. He announced his return last week prior to the NASCAR All-Star race at Charlotte where he finished sixth.

His biggest test came Sunday in his first race to go the distance. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.