Kyle Busch Happy To Be Back In The Saddle

Kyle Busch

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After nearly three months on the sidelines, Kyle Busch says he was happy to finally "get a taste" of being back at the race track and getting back in the saddle in his first race since the start of the 2015 Sprint Cup season.

As if to show that he hasn't missed a beat after missing the first 11 races, Busch's no 18 Toyota Camry was the fastest in the opening practice session for Saturday night's 30th running of the NASCAR Sprint All Star race.

"It felt really good," said Busch. "I was obviously optimistic about coming back and getting some laps in here at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Everything felt good with the No. 18 M&M's Red Nose Day Toyota Camry. I was excited to get back in and see my guys and just kind of get the taste of all of that again."

Friday's practice was the first time Busch has strapped into a Sprint Cup car since February, where he suffered a broken right leg and broken left foot in a crash in the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona on Feb. 21.

All through his lengthy rehabilitation process, Busch had his sights set on returning in time to run at Charlotte, a track where he has still yet to win a Sprint Cup event.

"I was kind of counting the weeks and I was like, ‘Man, I could probably make it back by Talladega, but that would definitely be pushing it,'" said Busch. "I was like, ‘Well, that wouldn't be very smart of me to come back for Talladega.' Kansas was the next one and I was like, ‘You know what, I don't know if I want that one either.'

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]"Charlotte looked really good and it seems to be a good choice to come back for here. I think it was kind of always a goal and whether or not I could meet that goal was just how hard we worked and pushed and tried to get ready for this day."

Charlotte is among many tracks that have added additional SAFER barriers to their facilities in response to Busch crash, where he hit a section of the inside wall not protected by a SAFER barrier.

Despite the added safety measures, Busch admits the risk of injury from another crash is always a concern.

"Taking another hard hit – that definitely is in the back of your mind," said Busch. "How hard of a hit can you withstand and not get hurt again? That's obviously there. That's something that we live with each and every day, even before I got hurt – how hard of a lick can I take and still walk away and I think we found that out finally. Every man is breakable.

"There's obviously a risk factor that we take, but you pray to the good Lord that he keeps you safe and you go do your job."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]In spite of the setback of missing the first 11 races, Busch got a bit of good news this week when NASCAR granted him a waiver to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup field, if he can get to victory lane and race his way into the top 30 in points.

"Obviously, it gives us a legitimate chance to try to qualify for the Chase and to be able to race for a championship. That's all you can ask for," said Busch. "I know it's not quite going to be easy. It's going to be a catch 22 sometimes probably, but we'll see what we can do and get ourselves Chase eligible and go race them in the end."

As if Busch didn't have enough on his plate, his wife Samantha is due to deliver the couple's first child any day, but Busch was hopeful the new arrival will hold off until after this weekend.

"When I left the house I told (Samantha) to make sure she did everything the best she could to keep her legs crossed today and tomorrow. We keep baby Busch inside for at least 48 more hours.

"It's legitimate that he's here on Monday, no doubt – no ifs, ands or buts. Samantha (Busch, wife) and I kind of chuckled about that last night, we looked at each other and we're like, ‘What are we going to be doing in 72 hours – at that point? It's going to be time to be parents, he's going to be here.' We're excited though. We both are and I am. Just hoping that the timing is right."