DENVER, Colo. (July 9, 2013) – Every four years presidential candidates would love to enter the vital New Hampshire primary with the kind of momentum that Kurt Busch will take to the Granite State for this weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race.
Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet SS, has pocketed three straight top-10 finishes, vaulting him from 20th to ninth in the driver point standings during the three-race stretch. The three consecutive top-10s included finishes of fourth in Sonoma and sixth in both Kentucky and Daytona.
The sixth-place finish in last Saturday night’s restrictor-plate race at Daytona International Speedway resulted in Busch gaining five positions in the standings as he reached the coveted top-10 in points for the first time this season.
“We’re not putting the cart before the horse, we still have a long ways to go with a lot of hard work ahead of us,” said Busch in advance of Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “You can go down as quickly as you can go up in the point standings. Look at us, we were 20th in points just four races ago.”
After a slow start to the 2013 season that saw numerous adversities sprinkled in with a few strong finishes, the Furniture Row Racing team started its recent surge during the month of May in Charlotte where Busch ran strong in the Sprint All-Star Race before capping it off with a third-place result in the Coca-Cola 600.
The Coke 600 result was the first of five top-10 finishes in the last seven races for the Denver, Colo. single-car team.
“We always felt the potential was there but the costly combination of mistakes and bad luck kept us from advancing,” noted Busch, the 2004 NASCAR champion. “We kept plugging away and the positive work effort is paying off with a consistent run of top-10 finishes. As it always does, it will come down to consistency to make the Chase.”
Busch couldn’t ask for a better track to continue his momentum than New Hampshire Motor Speedway where he has won three times along with seven top-fives, 11 top-10s and 438 laps led.
“New Hampshire is a fun track,” said Busch. “It’s been good to me in the past. I won there three times in Cup and also won a truck race there. It’s a track with a delicate balance, but the race is usually won on how well you can roll the center of the corners. Some years turns one and two are more of a struggle and turn three is always the bumpier corner entry. But it seems like if you can get rolling through the middle it tends to give you a better shot at winning.”
Busch also feels the New England track provides an entertaining race from start to finish.
“Because of the shortness of the race (300 miles) it seems like guys don’t yield positions as easily and drivers do run side-by-side more often and race each other harder for those spots,” explained Busch. “New Hampshire is a track when you top off with fuel you can run a full fuel run and not really lose a lot of speed with the tires.”
Furniture Row Racing Road Crew, 2013
No. 78 Over-the-Wall Crew
Front-tire changer
Anthony O’Brien, Cambridge, Minn.
Front-tire carrier
Mike Houston, Concord, N.C.
Rear-tire changer
Kenyatta Houston, Bronx, N.Y.
Rear-tire carrier
Arthur Simmons, Newark, Mo.
Jackman
Andrew Turner, Coloma, Mich.
Gasman
Milan Rudanovic, Sussex, N.J.
2nd Gasman
Ryan Bergenty, Plainville, Conn.
No. 78 Road Crew
General Manager
Joe Garone, Denver, Colo.
Crew Chief
Todd Berrier, Kernersville, N.C.
Executive Competition Director
Mark McArdle, La Crosse, Wis.
Competition Director
Pete Rondeau, Saco, Maine
Car Chief
Robert Huffman, Hickory, N.C.
Engineers
Cole Pearn, London, Ontario
Matt Faulkner, Memphis, Tenn.
Spotters
Rick Carelli, Arvada, Colo.
Clayton Hughes, Thomasville, N.C.
Engine Specialist
Scott Meesters, Hanford, Calif.
Engine Builder
Earnhardt-Childress Racing
Shock Specialist
Nick Kerlin, Old Fort, Ohio
Tire Specialist
Chad Krauch, Loveland, Colo.
Technical Support
Michael McCullough, Imperial, Calif.
Mechanics
Ryan Bergenty, Plainville, Conn.
Gary Frost, Romeo, Mich.
Transportation
Henry Benfield (also gas runner) Statesville, N.C.
Jason Churgin, San Fernando Valley, Calif.
Jim Gilbert, Belleville, IL.
Dave Hicks, Montcalm, WVa.
Chuck Lemay, DeKalb, IL
