France addresses safety, Kyle Busch Chase waiver

Busch broke his right leg and left foot in the season-opening NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway after colliding with a concrete wall. If he returns this season and makes it into the top 30 in points while also winning a race, he would need a waiver from the sanctioning body to participate in the Chase playoffs.

"Depends on when he comes back of course, but it'll be more likely than not that we're going to try to figure out how to accommodate him, which is the beauty of our playoff system," France told the Associated Press.

"What happened to him was on us," he said. "We'll balance a lot of things at that point when we have to make a decision, but we're inclined to want to figure that out for sure."

Busch, who turns 30 next week, has missed all eight races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Last week, he did not have a timetable for his return, but when asked whether he could get into a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry when NASCAR's premier series returns to Daytona in July, he said, "I would presume so."

In an April 15 news conference, his first since the Feb. 21 accident, the driver said he "would love to be" eligible to run for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

"I don't know if it's going to be 100 percent feasible to make the top-30 rule and I know the top-30 rule is in place for those one-offs that guys come in with a team or driver that raced at Daytona or Talladega or even a road course race and they win it, it's not meant for those guys to be able to take a spot from a series regular that races every week for the Chase," Busch said. "Do I hope that NASCAR takes into consideration for M&M's, Interstate Batteries and Toyota and the No. 18 Camry is a full-time team that is to be eligible for Chase competition at the beginning of the year? Certainly I hope they take that into consideration for the top-30 rule, but obviously that is left up to them, in their hands."

Since Busch's accident, tracks have proactively added tire packs and Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier to concrete walls, and France is "satisfied" that the facilities will continue to improve safety conditions on their racing surfaces.

"I met personally with the track ownership groups and they satisfied me completely that they were going to spend millions and millions of dollars right now, not down the road, to get it right," France said. "If that doesn't play out the way they have talked about and assured me, then we'll deal with it.

"You can't run around and say that safety is your No. 1 priority and get that stuff wrong."

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