Busch: No one expected me to come back this quickly

A day after receiving medical clearance to return to Sprint Cup Racing, a grateful Kyle Busch admitted Tuesday that after suffering extensive leg and foot injuries in a late February crash at Daytona International Speedway, virtually no one expected him to be back in a race car for this weekend's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch credited his speedy recovery to physicians, intensive physical therapy and the extra time that not having a "day job" afforded him.

"I call it an accomplishment because it's faster than anyone would have anticipated, even the doctors," Busch told reporters on a national teleconference just four hours after it was announced he would return to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota this weekend. "I feel like I've had some of the best doctors in the world working with me. … They've really helped me and pushed me tremendously. Without them, I don't know that this announcement would have been today. It would have been probably later down the road.

"All of them have been extremely pleased with how rapidly I've progressed. I don't know if 'surprised' is the right word, but we exceeded expectations for a return; that's for sure."