Ryan Reed wins Xfinity Series opener at Daytona; Kyle Busch hurt

Ryan Reed took the #16 Ford of Roush Fenway Racing to his first career Xfinity Series win in Saturday's Alert Today Florida 300 at Daytona, which started out as a quiet race, but ended up having several wild moments. Reed's teammate Chris Buescher in the #60 Ford helped push Reed past Cup driver Brad Keselowski, who then got shuffled behind the Dillon brothers, Ty and Austin, before the checkered flag.

The race went green for the first 80 laps, after which there were two big crashes. Daniel Suarez got loose off turn 4 and hit Regan Smith, whose car flipped down the frontstretch and landed by the start/finish line. Other drivers involved included John Wes Townley, Chase Elliott and Chad Boat. The race was stopped for cleanup, but as the cars stopped for the red flag on the backstretch Mike Wallace accidentally bumped into Austin Dillon's stopped car. Landon Cassill also lost his steering shortly after the red flag was lifted.

After the race went back green and there was a quick debris caution for a piece of tape from Chase Elliott's car, Kyle Busch in the #54 Toyota had a hard crash, brought on by contact after his teammate Erik Jones spun, collecting other drivers such as Elliott Sadler and Brendan Gaughan. Busch hit a spot of the track without a SAFER barrier, a device which has been credited for minimizing crash impacts in NASCAR. Busch was visibly injured, as he was seen lying on the ground appearing to have major pain on hi sright leg as safety crews rushed to treat him. Busch was taken by ambulance directly to Halifax Medical Center, and it appears he may have to miss Sunday's Daytona 500 depending on the severity of his leg injury. Busch's brother Kurt is also missing the Daytona 500 due to his suspension which was ordered by NASCAR a couple of hours before Friday's Camping World Truck Series race.

As Reed celebrates his first Xfinity win and other issues stemming from the race are sorted out, the Sprint Cup Series is preparing for the 57th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon, in what is sure to be a remarkable end to yet another memorable Speedweeks.

Race Results:

1. (8) #16 - Ryan Reed - Ford - 120 laps
2. (10) #60 - Chris Buescher - Ford - 120 laps
3. (34) #3 - Ty Dillon - Chevrolet - 120 laps
4. (1) #33 - Austin Dillon - Chevrolet - 120 laps
5. (14) #22 - Brad Keselowski - Ford - 120 laps
6. (18) #44 - David Starr - Toyota - 120 laps
7. (5) #98 - Aric Almirola - Ford - 120 laps
8. (27) #42 - Kyle Larson - Chevrolet - 120 laps
9. (21) #4 - Ross Chastain - Chevrolet - 120 laps
10. (40) #88 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevrolet - 119 laps (1 lap down)