NSCS: Todd Bodine Says Leg Injury Won’t Affect Kyle Busch Behind the Wheel

He’s a racer. All that kid wants to do is go fast. That broken leg is not going to slow him down. He’s not going to worry about it. He’ll be fine. – Todd Bodine

In the season opener for the XFINITY Series at Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Busch sustained a compound fracture of the right lower leg and a mid-foot fracture of his left foot as a result of a crash. The injury has resulted in Busch being forced to the sidelines for a “undetermined amount of time”.

Eventually, though, the younger Busch will return behind the wheel of his No. 18 M&Ms Camry for Joe Gibs Racing. When that time does happen, Todd Bodine says the crash shouldn’t affect Busch moving forward, based on his own experience.

“I’ve had some bad crashes. I’ve done everything but flip,” he commented. “A racecar driver is a different animal. You may think about it when you’re walking around and they’re asking you questions about getting hurt, how you feel, is it hurting. But when you put those belts on and start that motor, you don’t think about it anymore. If you do, you don’t need to be sitting in that seat. It’s all about how you approach it and how you think about it. If you let that stuff bother you, you don’t need to be driving a racecar. When you turn that car on, there’s nothing else you think about. You can be sick as a dog, have the flu and you start that thing – you don’t think about it anymore.”

Bodine attributes to that fact to the amount of concentration is needed to drive the racecar on the edge of control and be fast, and during that period of concentration, a driver doesn’t let anything else enter their mind. Bodine used an example of his own career, reflecting back on St. Louis in the Camping World Truck Series. With the race postponed from Saturday night to Sunday morning as a result of the lights going out, the drivers were racing in conditions that saw 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

“We’re running the race, hotter than heck out,” Bodine commented. “We get done the race and I get out of the truck and I’m like burning up. It was so hot, I ran into the media center and laid on the concrete floor. Well, pull my firesuit down to cool down, and our seats are made out of aluminum, we have a pad over it but it’s just a covering. My seat got so hot that it burned the impression of the seat in my side, and I didn’t know that while in the car, I didn’t feel it.”

About the Author

Ashley McCubbin

Joining OnPitRoad.com mid-2013 season, Ashley McCubbin is now the Managing Editor and contributes to each racing division as needed. Since studying journalism at the University of Guelph-Humber, Ashley has published articles on a couple of different websites, while serving as a public relations representative for different short track teams. Born in North York, Ontario, Ashley currently lives in Bradford, Ontario and spends her weekend at the local short tracks in the area. She has spent her entire life at the short track level, falling in love with the sport at the age of five. Beyond her love of short track racing, she also has grown an interest for both NASCAR and the IndyCar Racing Series. She also enjoys taking photos and working on websites, while playing a couple rounds of Candy Crush afterwards.

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