NASCAR Cup Series

Kurt Busch racing without crew chief Tony Gibson at Texas

Published Apr. 7, 2016 6:19 p.m. ET

foxsports

Kurt Busch ran Thursday's opening round of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Texas Motor Speedway without crew chief Tony Gibson, who was back home in North Carolina with his ailing wife, Beth.

Johnny Klausmeier, who is normally Busch's engineer, will act as crew chief for the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet through Friday. Gibson is expected back at the track for Saturday's Duck Commander 500 (FOX, 7:30 p.m. ET).

Busch's season has gotten off to a solid start so far.

The 2004 Sprint Cup champ comes into the Texas race eighth in points after six races, with four top-10 finishes and a best result of fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

(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