NASCAR’s Kurt Busch to drive for Furniture Row team in 2013

The NASCAR team of Furniture Row Racing said Monday it signed former champion Kurt Busch to drive its No. 78 Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series next year, replacing Regan Smith.

Busch this year is driving for another small team, Phoenix Racing, after a series of angry public outbursts by Busch led to his release from Penske Racing at the end of last season.

“Kurt’s exceptional driving talent has the capacity to take a team to another level,” Furniture Row Racing General Manager Joe Garone said in a statement.

Busch, 34, has 24 Cup wins in his career and he captured the Cup championship in 2004 while driving for the team now called Roush Fenway Racing.

Busch this year is 25th in the Cup standings, with no wins and two top 10 finishes in Phoenix Racing’s No. 51 Chevrolet.

Smith, who turned 29 on Sunday, scored the only Cup victory for himself and Furniture Row Racing last year when he won the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

“As our team driver the past four years, Regan has represented Furniture Row Racing with both class and competitiveness,” Garone said. “We wish him all the best.”

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