2013 started for Busch the very same way that 2012 had – driving with a new team, in this case, Furniture Row Racing.
In spite of this, Busch showed off significant improvement over the off-year that had been 2012, both for himself and FRR as a whole: in the three years the car was driven by Regan Smith, Furniture Row Racing had only one win, three top-five, and six top-ten finishes, and only led 42 laps in Sprint Cup competition.
In comparison, in the first 23 races of 2013, Busch had five top-five finishes, nine top-ten finishes, one pole, and had led 270 laps, more than six times as many laps as the car had ever led with Smith in the previous three seasons.

Busch started the 2013 season crashing in the Sprint Unlimited on lap 14, finishing in 13th place.
He finished fifth in the Budweiser Duel, but poor handling made him finish the Daytona 500 in 28th place, five laps down.
He did not improve much the next week at Phoenix, where he finished one lap down in twenty-seventh place.
He then had a twentieth-place finish at Las Vegas.
After three less successful runs, he hit a resurgence, getting a fourth-place finish at Bristol.

At Fontana, Busch went a lap down briefly after being penalized for speeding during green-flag pit stops, but he surged back in the last laps to finish in third place behind his brother Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr..
At Martinsville, Busch had bad luck.
He crashed early in the race and after repairing his damages, successfully took the lucky dog free pass.
But later, on lap 487, while running many laps down, Busch lost his brakes in turn 1 and slammed the wall hard enough to cause his engine to burst into flames.
This brought out a 6-minute red flag.
Busch was uninjured.

At Texas, Busch almost acquired the pole position with a qualifying speed of 195.688 mph, but the final one to qualify; his younger brother managed to win the pole with a speed of 196.299 mph to conclude qualifying.
Busch ended up starting second, but still on the front row.
However, he was disappointed to lose the pole, saying "I would rather lose to Kyle than anybody else... it is frustrating that I do lose it to him though."

At Richmond, Busch led for 36 laps and contended for victory.
However, on a final restart, he again tangled with Tony Stewart.
He had bumped Stewart on the restart causing Stewart to finish out of the top-ten.
After the race ended the two cars exchanged shoves and the two argued on pit road, drawing attention away from race winner Kevin Harvick.
Both were summoned to the NASCAR hauler.
Busch finished in ninth place and said to reporters that he did not intentionally hit Stewart and said he was surprised and disappointed when Stewart retaliated after the checkers.

At Talladega, Busch led two laps and was in the top-ten on lap 182 when he was collected in a large pileup on the back straightaway.
He took the worst damage in the crash, as J.J. Yeley got loose from contact with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., went across the track and hit him with enough force that Busch turned sideways, flipped over once, and landed on top of Ryan Newman, then slid off Newman and struck the outside wall, and was hit again by Clint Bowyer and Bobby Labonte.
Busch was uninjured.

At Darlington, Busch won his first pole position of the year.
From the drop of the green flag, Busch led 69 of the first 80 laps, but his handling went away after the first green flag pit stops and he was forced to settle for a fourteenth-place finish.

At the All-Star race, Busch started up front and led 29 laps, winning two of the four 20 lap segments, with brother Kyle winning the other two.
However, a poor pit stop by both Busch brothers was responsible for causing them to lose the lead and race to Jimmie Johnson for the final ten-lap shootout.
Kurt finished fifth.

At the Coca-Cola 600 a week later, Busch started second on the outside of the front row.
Despite having to change a battery late in the race, he led eight laps and he still finished in third place, the first time he'd finished in the top three since June 2012 at Sonoma.
When interviewed, he respond
2013 started for Busch the very same way that 2012 had – driving with a new team, in this case, Furniture Row Racing. In spite of this, Busch showed off significant improvement over the off-year that had been 2012, both for himself and FRR as a whole: in the three years the car was driven by Regan Smith, Furniture Row Racing had only one win, three top-five, and six top-ten finishes, and only led 42 laps in Sprint Cup competition. In comparison, in the first 23 races of 2013, Busch had five top-five finishes, nine top-ten finishes, one pole, and had led 270 laps, more than six times as many laps as the car had ever led with Smith in the previous three seasons.
Busch started the 2013 season crashing in the Sprint Unlimited on lap 14, finishing in 13th place. He finished fifth in the Budweiser Duel, but poor handling made him finish the Daytona 500 in 28th place, five laps down. He did not improve much the next week at Phoenix, where he finished one lap down in twenty-seventh place. He then had a twentieth-place finish at Las Vegas. After three less successful runs, he hit a resurgence, getting a fourth-place finish at Bristol.
At Fontana, Busch went a lap down briefly after being penalized for speeding during green-flag pit stops, but he surged back in the last laps to finish in third place behind his brother Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr..
At Martinsville, Busch had bad luck. He crashed early in the race and after repairing his damages, successfully took the lucky dog free pass. But later, on lap 487, while running many laps down, Busch lost his brakes in turn 1 and slammed the wall hard enough to cause his engine to burst into flames. This brought out a 6-minute red flag. Busch was uninjured.
At Texas, Busch almost acquired the pole position with a qualifying speed of 195.688 mph, but the final one to qualify; his younger brother managed to win the pole with a speed of 196.299 mph to conclude qualifying. Busch ended up starting second, but still on the front row. However, he was disappointed to lose the pole, saying "I would rather lose to Kyle than anybody else... it is frustrating that I do lose it to him though."
At Richmond, Busch led for 36 laps and contended for victory. However, on a final restart, he again tangled with Tony Stewart. He had bumped Stewart on the restart causing Stewart to finish out of the top-ten. After the race ended the two cars exchanged shoves and the two argued on pit road, drawing attention away from race winner Kevin Harvick. Both were summoned to the NASCAR hauler. Busch finished in ninth place and said to reporters that he did not intentionally hit Stewart and said he was surprised and disappointed when Stewart retaliated after the checkers.
At Talladega, Busch led two laps and was in the top-ten on lap 182 when he was collected in a large pileup on the back straightaway. He took the worst damage in the crash, as J.J. Yeley got loose from contact with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., went across the track and hit him with enough force that Busch turned sideways, flipped over once, and landed on top of Ryan Newman, then slid off Newman and struck the outside wall, and was hit again by Clint Bowyer and Bobby Labonte. Busch was uninjured.
At Darlington, Busch won his first pole position of the year. From the drop of the green flag, Busch led 69 of the first 80 laps, but his handling went away after the first green flag pit stops and he was forced to settle for a fourteenth-place finish.
At the All-Star race, Busch started up front and led 29 laps, winning two of the four 20 lap segments, with brother Kyle winning the other two. However, a poor pit stop by both Busch brothers was responsible for causing them to lose the lead and race to Jimmie Johnson for the final ten-lap shootout. Kurt finished fifth.
At the Coca-Cola 600 a week later, Busch started second on the outside of the front row. Despite having to change a battery late in the race, he led eight laps and he still finished in third place, the first time he'd finished in the top three since June 2012 at Sonoma. When interviewed, he respond
Kurt Busch