Tony Gibson, crew chief for driver Kurt Busch and the No. 41 Chevrolet team, arrived at the track Saturday and will call the race after missing the first two days at Texas, a spokesperson from Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed.
The team had announced Thursday that Gibson would miss the first two days of the race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
SHR said through its official Twitter account that Gibson, 51, would stay home in North Carolina to care for his wife, who is dealing with an unspecified illness. The team indicated at the time that Gibson planned to rejoin the No. 41 team in time for Saturday’s Duck Commander 500 (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season.
Johnny Klausmeier served as interim crew chief in Gibson’s absence, according to the team.
Johnny Klausmeier, engineer on the No. 41 car, will serve as crew chief for @KurtBusch today & tomorrow … (1/2)
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) April 7, 2016
(2/2) @TonyOldman41 is back home in NC with his wife as she is under the weather. He plans to be @TXMotorSpeedway Saturday for the race.
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) April 7, 2016
Gibson tweeted Saturday morning that he was on his way to the track, and that his wife was in the hospital.
It’s hard to leave this morning knowing @gibson_beth is still in the hospital. Thanks everyone for the support�� pic.twitter.com/G7f2QKp9Gx
— Tony Gibson (@TonyOldman41) April 9, 2016
“It’s a good way to gauge how well we’re prepared for situations like this,” Busch said on Thursday. “Tony Gibson’s a great leader and everybody’s ready to step up when he’s gone.”
Gibson joined SHR in 2009. He has been paired with Busch since the end of the 2014 season, winning two races with the former premier-series champion in that span.