Furniture Row's Joe Garone: "I Have Talked To Kurt Busch"

Furniture Row Racing general manager Joe Garone confirmed today that talks have taken place between the team and driver Kurt Busch, but said those conversations are not a result of dissatisfaction with the team’s current driver, Regan Smith.

FRR's Joe Garone

“I have talked to Kurt Busch,” said Garone, “but it was about a team we don’t even have yet. We are working diligently on getting a second (Sprint Cup) car for next year, and I’m trying to get my hands around some of the guys that will be available going onto 2013. I wanted to make an introduction to Kurt, and just let him know what our plans are for the future.”

Smith currently ranks 25^th in Sprint Cup championship points, and has failed to record a Top-10 finish in nine starts this season. Despite those struggles, Garone said his conversation with Busch, “is not about being unhappy with Regan Smith. (Regan) is in a contract year, and if he does not return (in 2013) it’s because he’s not getting the job done. But honestly, our mile-and-a-half program is struggling right now, and that has nothing to do with Regan.”

Garone said he believes Smith and Busch would make good teammates, saying, “Kurt and Regan have worked well together on the superspeedways in the past. They have drafted well together and talked well back and forth. Adding a second team would be a major boost for Furniture Row Racing, and we’re all working hard to try and make that happen.”