Kurt Busch eager to work with new Furniture Row team

DOVER, Del. -

Following his dismissal from Penske Racing last season, Kurt Busch has used this year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series to return to his racing roots.

"It's been a fun year to get back to working hard [and] getting grease under your fingernails," Busch said Friday at Dover International Speedway before practicing for Sunday's AAA 400.

Driving the No. 51 Chevrolet for midlevel single-car Phoenix Racing hasn't brought the 2004 Cup champion near victory lane. He is 25th in points, with only one top-five finish and another top-10.

Busch just announced he is moving to the Denver-based Furniture Row team. He'll get a jump on next season in the No. 78 Chevrolet starting with the Oct. 13 race at Charlotte. Busch will replace Regan Smith (23rd in points, one career Cup win).

"The short term is to settle in, get comfortable in the seat and get to know [team members]," Busch said.

From the outside, Busch appears to be moving from one midlevel team to another. Au contraire, Busch said.

"We are running equipment that is 4 years old," Busch said. "It's disappointing to hear that a lot of people view it as a lateral move. That is a slap in the face to [team owner] Barney Visser. Furniture Row is a diamond in the rough. They have not reached their full potential."

Looking back, Busch said he thinks he was too aggressive in cars not capable of winning.

"I had the wrong approach: I was following my Zen master Charlie Sheen, and that wasn't going very well," he said. "Then I followed a fellow [who is a] most top-10-hated athlete, LeBron James. He brought his talents to Miami and won a championship there. I'm going to use that motivation: I'm going to take my talents to Denver and bring the championship out there.

"Then I decided I'm going to look at a new Zen master, Bryce Harper [the] 19-year-old phenom from Las Vegas [Busch's hometown]. He is the Nationals guy that has helped their team get into the playoffs. He is so wise. He told the media, 'No more clown questions.' I'm not going to answer any clown questions."

Fortunately, Busch's news conference ended there, before his line of thought drifted farther out into the universe.

Chase a 'big deal'

Every time Martin Truex Jr. races at Dover, it brings back memories of his only Cup series victory, June 2007. Truex, from Mayetta, N.J. (Ocean County), also won two Nationwide Series races at the track he considers his home.

Truex is making his second Chase appearance (he finished 11th in 2007). After two races, he is 10th.

"This time around, I definitely appreciate the opportunity more," he said. "I understand how big a deal it is for our team to be in it this year."

Driving the No. 56 Toyota, Truex was fastest in Friday's first practice at 157.082 mph. Teammate Clint Bowyer, also a Chaser, was second-fastest (156.597 mph).

Truex, a huge Eagles fan, is wearing an Eagles-themed helmet this weekend. Former safety Brian Dawkins, who will have his No. 20 retired Sunday night at the Eagles-Giants game, is the grand marshal for Sunday's race.

Motorsports' 'dean' dies

Chris Economaki, known as "dean of American motorsports journalists," died Friday at age 91. Economaki founded National Speed Sports News, a weekly newspaper, and was editor for 50 years. He also worked for ABC and CBS Sports.

. The press box at Pocono Raceway is named after Economaki.

"Chris Economaki became the prototype for all radio and television journalists in his sport," said Mike Joy, NASCAR announcer for Fox Sports and Speed. "His depth of knowledge and skilled questioning made network execs understand that auto racing needed specialists to properly cover the sport. Chris opened the door for a whole generation of voices you hear today, and we are all indebted to him."

No Grand-Am in N.J.

New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville is not on the 2013 Grand-Am schedule. The Grand-Am series raced at NJMP for 5 years.

"It's more competitive than ever to get on the Grand-Am schedule," Herb Branham, Grand-Am's managing director of communications, said Friday. "More than 20 tracks tried to be part of the 12-race schedule [for next year]. It just couldn't be worked out with New Jersey."

Said NJMP general manager Brad Scott: "We have active ongoing conversations with senior leadership of Grand-Am to discuss future race series at NJMP. Grand-Am has reduced their event schedule from to 12 and have added two new track locations. Several tracks were removed from the 2013 schedule, including NJMP, to make this change possible."