DENVER (Oct. 30, 2013) – Even though Kurt Busch finished 37th and dropped to 24th in driver points at the Texas Motor Speedway race in April, the Furniture Row Racing driver feels it was the turning point of the season for the single-car team.
“I know it might sound awkward considering the finish we had and our points position following the Texas spring race, but what I am saying is accurate,” stated Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet SS. “It was our turning point race. We felt like we had a whole different swagger about the team with the setup we brought there. I think we all felt then that we had the potential to be one of the Chase teams.”
For the record, Busch qualified second at the April Texas race, his first of eight front-row starts of the season. During the practices leading up to the Saturday night race he was posting some of the top speeds.
And when the green flag dropped to start the 500-mile race at the 1.5-mile oval, Busch was running up front until a fuel regulator malfunctioned, forcing him to the garage to replace the broken part.
But since that Texas race, Busch has indeed come on strong, scoring eight top fives, 13 top-10s and becoming the first driver from a single-car team to qualify for the Chase playoffs.
Another indicator of how the Denver-based team progressed since Texas in April is Busch’s 6.86 finishing average in the ensuing seven races on mile-and-a-half ovals.
Busch is looking to improve upon his 1.5-mile success at this weekend’s AAA Texas 500 Sprint Cup race.
“I am looking forward to going back to Texas to try and clean up some spilled milk,” said Busch, who enters Sunday’s race ninth in driver points. “I feel Texas has the potential of being one of our better Chase races. We also haven’t had much success at the last three Sprint Cup races so it’s time to turn things around.”
The Texas race also gave Furniture Row Racing a spark last fall, when Busch scored his first of three-consecutive top-10 finishes.
“We were pretty good in the closing three races last year and I look for us to show similar muscle as we head into the homestretch,” said Busch, who joined Furniture Row Racing with six races remaining in 2012. “But we can’t afford any slips if we want to stay in the top-10 in points and have a speaking slot at the awards banquet in Las Vegas.”
Busch’s career record at Texas Motor Speedway includes: 21 starts, one win, three top-fives, 12 top-10s and 235 laps led. His starting average is 15.7 and finishing average is 15.2.
