NASCAR champion Busch undergoes surgery

Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) celebrates winning the NASCAR Spring Cup Championship after the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - Kyle Busch, the 2015 NASCAR Series champion, underwent foot and leg surgery on Thursday, Joe Gibbs Racing announced. Busch had two metal plates in his left foot and a metal rod and screws in his right leg removed, the team said. The plates, rod and screws had been inserted to help stabilize Busch's injuries after he incurred a broken leg and fractured foot in a crash at Daytona in February. Busch, 30, missed the first 11 races of the NASCAR season but returned in style, winning four races in five starts in June and July, before taking the season-ending event in November to claim the Sprint Cup title on the U.S. stock car circuit. (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Larry Fine)