Forget the Bye Week, NASCAR Needs a Week Off for Medical Leave

After a hectic Daytona Speedweeks and the drama of the first four races of the season, NASCAR is ready for a mini-break, with a bye this weekend before heading off to the Bristol bull ring.

Drivers will be off catching up on endorsements and the daily things of life, like family time and overall relaxation. Teams will be catching their breaths, taking a moment to reflect on the season so far and what they need to work on with their cars in the upcoming weeks ahead.

But there are some drivers and teams who just need the time off to recuperate, recover and heal.

Jamie McMurray, with Roush Racing, is one of those drivers.  In a recent radio interview, McMurray admitted that he has been sick since the start of the season in Daytona.

He has been to multiple doctors and taken several different rounds of antibiotics, including via injection. At one point before the Fontana race, he said that instead of praying for a safe race, he was just begging God to allow him to feel better.

At Atlanta, McMurray said he felt like he had finally turned the corner and was starting to recover.  Having a pretty good run at Atlanta, finishing 15th and climbing up four positions to 18th in the points, he still looks forward to an off week to continue his physical healing.

Kyle Busch, who had been on a tear at Atlanta, winning in the Camping World Truck Series, also needs the bye time to get better. Busch has been suffering with a miserable cold, which he claims to have picked up in the garage area from some "virus that was going around".

Even when under the weather and facing the adversity of being a lap down, Busch battled back to finish 18th in the race, matching his M&M car number. Busch lost one spot in the points, falling to the seventh position even while battling his stuffy nose and watery eyed cold.

Martin Truex Jr. undoubtedly cannot wait for the weekend off. He had one of the worst physical ailments of all, battling a kidney stone the night before the Cup race.

During Happy Hour, Truex said that he felt "the brunt of the pain." But he begged his team to leave him in the car, where he said that he at least felt better and more comfortable in the seat.

Truex was then taken to the hospital, where he could not even get pain medication for the stone due to NASCAR's new zero tolerance substance abuse policy.  He soldiered through the pain, passed the stone and showed up at the track for race day.

In spite of it all, Truex finished the race in the 10th position climbing seven positions to 19th in the points race to date. No doubt that Truex will be looking forward to some kicking back time on the couch, resting and relaxing.

The final driver who really needs the bye week for recovery purposes is young Truck series driver Colin Braun. Late in the race, in a chain reaction wreck, Braun slid so hard into the SAFER barrier wall that the front of his truck was no longer and the back of this truck flew into the air from the force.

On his Facebook page, Braun shared the following,  "Thanks for all your wishes. I am fine and just got the wind knocked out of me. The SAFER wall and the HANS device did the job and I feel great".

Braun's note continued, "It was a shame because we were right where we wanted to be with 12 laps to go. Terry Cook slowed, he may have been low on gas and when that happened I slowed and we all stacked up. It was a hard hit but the truck took it well.  Thanks for everyone that wrote in, it really means a lot to me knowing you all care".

So many drivers will be looking forward to having a week off to just recover and get themselves back in shape for the remainder of the very full NASCAR season. 

Hopefully, drivers like McMurray, Busch, Truex Jr., and especially Colin Braun, will be able to rest their bodies and prepare themselves for the next weeks of racing battles lurking just around the corner.

Undoubtedly all the other drivers, teams and even the fans, will look forward to one week of catching their collective breaths before approaching the drama of racing, at least until the Easter break.