DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After a vicious crash left Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch with a right lower leg compound fracture and a left mid-foot fracture, the team has decided to put defending Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton in the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for the Daytona 500.
The source is a person close to the team and wished to keep their anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation.
Crafton and Busch have familiarity among the Toyota Racing family in the Truck Series, Busch with his own outfit, Kyle Busch Motorsports, and Crafton with ThorSport Racing.
Rumors ran that Xfinity Series driver Erik Jones, a driver that raced for Busch in the Truck Series, would replace the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, but NASCAR overruled it due to his lack of experience.
Sunday will mark Crafton’s Sprint Cup debut on NASCAR’s biggest stage.
