Kurt Busch To Drive For Furniture Row Racing In 2013

Kurt Busch has agreed to drive the No. 78 car for Furniture Row Racing in 2013, replacing Regan Smith, the team announced Monday.

"Furniture Row Racing has the commitment, talent and resources to compete at a high level in the Sprint Cup Series," Busch said in a statement released by the team. "I have watched with admiration on how this team has grown over the years and that is why I am excited about the opportunity as I eagerly look forward to a new chapter in my racing career."

Busch, 34, is the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion and has amassed 24 wins and six Chase appearances in 471 career starts. This past season, he has driven the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing, with a best finish of third at Sonoma.

But with Phoenix Racing not able to attract suitable sponsorship and provide Busch with consistently competitive equipment, the 2004 Cup champion was actively pursuing a new team for 2013. According to a tweet posted by Busch's girlfriend Saturday, Furniture Row was one of a "few" teams who had offered Busch a contract for next year.

And although Furniture Row, like Phoenix Racing, is a single-car team, part of the allure of joining the Denver-based team is the technical alliance the team shares with Richard Childress Racing, as RCR supplies Furniture Row with engines and chassis.

"Though we have made strides as a resourceful single-car Sprint Cup team, we are not where we want to be, which led us to the difficult decision of making a driver change as we move forward," said Furniture Row Racing general manager Joe Garone. "Kurt's exceptional driving talent has the capacity to take a team to another level. We look forward to having Kurt join our Denver-based organization and feel his racing experience will play an important role as we plan ahead to 2013."