After his sixth-place run at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Saturday night, Kurt Busch has moved the small one-car team of Furniture Row Racing into a Chase contending position; ninth in points.

Back in 2004, the eldest Busch Brother was in racing heaven and on top of the standings; holding up the prized Championship trophy at the end of the season. Since that season, his road has been bumpy to say the least.

He spent five seasons at Penske Racing, running the No.2 Dodge that won the Championship last season and saw Victory Lane eight times. After parting ways with the No.2 in 2011, he moved to the No.22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, also for Penske Racing. Unfortunately, that ride didn’t last too long.

In 2012, Busch found himself looking for a full-time ride and found that in the No.51 of Phoenix Racing and James Finch. With limited sponsorship, Busch was struggling to put himself in a position to contend for wins and only found himself in the top-10 twice. After 30 races, Busch and Finch parted ways and Busch moved to his new home; Furniture Row Racing.

In the six races he ran at the end of 2012 in the No.78, Busch almost doubled his top-10 finishes. In 2013, Busch set out to prove that he still had it. Based out of Denver, Colorado, Furniture Row Racing is a one-car team who has invested 100% in Kurt Busch. In 18 races, Busch has eight top-10s, four top-5 finishes, and four front row starts including one pole.

Busch has found himself in a position that he hasn’t seen in quite some time, in a Chase position. Sitting ninth in points, Busch isn’t slowing down and continues to push the car to its limits each and every week. He jumped five positions last week when he came into Daytona sitting 14th.

Is a win this season too much of a stretch for Busch? I don’t think so. In the last five races, Busch has four top-10s and two top-10 starting spots. Kurt Busch has made a home for himself at Furniture Row Racing this pairing could go on to do great things together. Have we seen the last of Championship Contending Kurt Busch? Nope, it is clear we have just seen the beginning.

Katie Copple
Latest posts by Katie Copple (see all)