Hot 20 over the past 10 – Where is that vain, obnoxious, temperamental Kurt Busch we used to love to loathe?

I like Kurt Busch. There, I said it. Do not get me wrong. The Kurt Busch who mouthed off and got punched in the head by Jimmy Spencer, he I did not much care for. The Robo-Kurt, who acted as phoney as a $3 bill, only to show his true colors by mouthing off a respected reporter like Dr. Jerry Punch a couple of years ago, I did not much care for that jackass either. The underdog, driving for a single car operation out of Denver, Colorado, he I do like.

Barney Visser’s Furniture Row Motorsports has been around since 2005, participating in 214 Sprint Cup events over that time. They have just 16 Top Tens, but half of that number have come in the 21 races Busch has been behind the wheel. Regan Smith had the others. They have just 6 Top Fives, half of them claimed by Busch over the first 15 races of the current season. Smith had the other three, but in 84 contests. So, either Smith found more money sitting around when Smith drove for him, and then found a bunch more the past couple of years, or they finally got a driver who can take their equipment to new heights. I am guessing Kurt Busch is that reason.

While Smith gave Visser his only chance to visit Victory Lane at Darlington in 2011, Busch seems poised to match that sometime this year. He has one pole and four times he has started on the front row. He might be sitting 20th in the standings, but he is only 33 points out of the Top Ten. A win or two, and a place in the Chase would be their’s.

In fact, their effort is not even reflected in the standings. When they have raced, they mattered. Too bad they finished 20th or worse to start the first three races of the current campaign, Four times since they have been 30th or worse, including last week at Michigan. Three times they have been bad, four others have been awful. As for the remaining eight, their worst finish has been 15th. If they could just keep the parts together and keep away from the things that turn fenders into so much trash, they would do so much better.

Will they do it, will they make the Chase? They could, but they are an underdog. It is a role that fits Busch well, one that appears to have finally matured him. For a man who turns 35 this August I guess it is about time, but some prima donnas never do mature. It is truly refreshing to discover one who appears to have done just that.

What he needs to do at Sonoma on Sunday is to get hot again, as Busch slips out of our Top 20. Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski are two other boys who are a lot colder lately than what they are ranked over the season.

As some drop, others rise, and sometimes the numbers do not make much sense. Juan Pablo Montoya finishes 20th last week, yet rises eight positions on this chart. Huh? Horrid days experienced by Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jeff Gordon helped, especially when a good day is replaced by a bad one in our ten race window. Montoya was 18 places better at Michigan than he was Fontana, while Gordon was 28 worse, Kahne 29, and Junior 35. That will do it.

Jimmie Johnson remains the one with the hot hand and our top five remain the same as they take on the road course in California.