Kurt Busch ready to ride Charlotte success into Dover this weekend

Kurt Busch won at Dover in 2011; he's 20/1 to win Sunday

DENVER, Colo. (May 29, 2013) – After two consecutive weekends of contending performances at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch and the Furniture Row Racing team will take their momentum to the challenging all-concrete Dover International Speedway, site of Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race – the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks.

Busch, who posted top-five finishes in the Sprint All-Star Race (5th) and Coca-Cola 600 (3rd) along with notching front row starting positions in the past three races, feels the Denver-based, single-car team is starting to hit a new stride as the NASCAR season heads into the summer months.

“We’re hitting on some sweet spots right now which has been evident with the speed in our Furniture Row/Sealy Chevrolet,” said Busch. “Though we’ve been running up front and leading laps we haven’t quite been able to put together that perfect race which is needed to take us to Victory Lane. We were in position the past two weekends in Charlotte but didn’t close the deal.”

With 14 races until the Chase playoff begins, Busch is a catchable 32 points out of the coveted 10th position.

“There are scenarios out there where we can make the Chase,” stated Busch. “The bottom line is that we need to continue the way we’ve been running and avoid mistakes and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We’ve already had too many finishes in the 30s.”

Busch’s season to date includes three top-fives and four top-10s. The three top-fives is a season record forFurniture Row Racing and the third-place result last weekend in Charlotte was the team’s best finish of the season.

Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, has scored 24 career wins with the last one coming at the Dover Monster Mile in October 2011.

“Dover is a fun track to drive, you’re always on that edge and when you’re fast there it feels extra fast because of how close you have to cut it on corner exit and not hit the wall,” explained Busch. “It’s the Monster Mile for a reason – the track can chew up cars and spit them out. And it’s because of the tough transitions into the high-banked corners. It’s like you literally jump down into the corner and then jump back up out of the corner onto the straightaway. Those points of the track are the toughest part – the transition from straightaway to corner.”

In 25 career races at Dover, Busch has one win, six top-fives, eight top-10s and 418 laps led.

- DMF Communication for Furniture Row Racing