NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Kurt Busch Starts Work On 2013
Kurt Busch opens tenure with Furniture Row Racing Saturday night…
Jim Rising  |  Posted October 11, 2012   Concord, NC
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
This is the next weekend of Kurt Busch’s life and the next ride in his NASCAR career.

And, perhaps most importantly, it’s already the next year, at least in Busch’s view.

“2013 for us starts today,” Busch said Thursday.

Busch made the latest transition in his up-and-down NASCAR career this week, moving into the seat of the Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, where he is scheduled to run the final six races of this season as a jumpstart on 2013, when he is scheduled to go full-time for the Denver, Colorado-based team.

Busch said his range of expectations for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 is wide.

“We could win, we could finish 43rd,” he said. “We are here to work together as a team and [to] get team communication ironed out. Our season starts now for next year. That way we are solid when we get to Daytona, and those 26 races are more important for us next year.”

Busch said he and team members had dinner together this week to hasten the “get to know you” process. Next week it will be accelerated in a long stretch at Kansas Speedway as NASCAR runs tests before the Sprint Cup weekend.

“Next week at Kansas, we are testing on Wednesday and Thursday before our normal race weekend,” he said. “We will have five days next week. You can’t build it all in one day, but Todd Berrier (crew chief) and I have been around long enough to where, ‘Hey, let’s just tie our shoes on a normal way and go after business.’

“I mean everybody says seat time, jumping in the seat and working with the guys just making sure that we find little things that we are not quite clear on to get out of the way. That way each week we get stronger and stronger.”

Busch ended his abbreviated run with Phoenix Racing Sunday at Talladega on a note of controversy. After crashing and stopping on the track apron, he was being helped by safety workers when he drove away, a move that irritated NASCAR officials, who parked Busch for the rest of the race. Some had expectations that Busch might be hit with additional penalties, but NASCAR announced Tuesday that no more penalties would be forthcoming.

“We were all on the same page afterward,” Busch said. “It’s tough to penalize a guy who has the heart and desire to get back in the race. Our day wasn’t quite done, and it was my last day with the team. I was just trying to give it my all.”

Phoenix Racing has moved on and has AJ Allmendinger in its car this week. The team’s No. 51 Chevrolet has a big “smiley face” on its hood, which team members said is a farewell message for Busch.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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