DENVER, COLORADO :: After announcing roughly a month back that Kurt Busch wouldn't return to Furniture Row Racing, they are now in need of a driver. With top prospects like Ryan Newman and Juan Montoya already deciding their future it leaves Furniture Row with no "great" driver to choose from.

2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, Bobby Labonte has been in the early conversation of getting this FFR (Furniture Row Racing) ride. Labonte who hasn't seen victory lane since Homstead in 2003, has been driving for JTG Daughtery in the No. 47 Toyota. That team though isn't re-signing Labonte for 2014 because they picked up AJ Allmendinger last month. Labonte isn't maybe the top prospect but is definitely a option.

After resigning from Richard Childress Racing Jeff Burton has been in NASCAR'S Free Agency but now with the No. 78 all open it put's him in a pretty good situation. The No. 78 is a RCR (Richard Childress Racing) powered car, which Burton has had experience with. Burton could easily retire from racing and coach his nephew Jeb Burton in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. A big deciding factor of whether Burton gets a ride next year could be this weekend, he loves Loudon and with a win it would make his chances of this ride a lot better.

Another and possibly the final contender for this spot in 2013 Talladega winner, David Ragan. The current Front Row Racing driver isn't signed for 2014 and his options are either the No. 78 car or re-sign with the No. 34 team. Ragan hasn't been mentioned for this ride, but in my mind he is a front running candidate.

Free Agents:

Dave Blaney
Jeff Burton 
David Gilliland
Travis Kvapil
Bobby Labonte
Mark Martin (looking for part time)
David Ragan
David Reutimann

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 14^th.

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.