Steve Addington has Kurt Busch, Penske back in title contention

What’s impressive about these past two weeks in Charlotte is that we have reason to believe that Kurt Busch has a legitimate shot at making history.

Only three other drivers have won the All-Star Race, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Cup championship in the same year. This elite group consists of Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt is already in the Hall of Fame and Waltrip and Gordon are future Hall members, so for Busch to have the potential to join that crowd with this record is a huge accomplishment. After a dominating performance Sunday night in the 600, Kurt has now completed two of the three goals.

A lot of folks questioned whether the hiring of Steve Addington as crew chief was the right choice since the combination of Kurt’s brother, Kyle, and Steve didn’t net a championship - though the pair did win a dozen races together in a two-year span. Now almost midway through the season it is clear he is the exact man for the job.

Addington has the rare ability to calm Kurt down when he blows up, get him refocused and help him to win races. It’s a difficult job - Trust me, I speak from experience here with ol’ DW. A lot of men won’t put up with it, but Steve has the right attitude and the right approach about it. I also think he has brought some ideas and concepts to Penske Racing and Dodge that have made them stronger.

Simply put, Steve Addington has been a huge addition for that entire organization over there.

My last seven races on the pit box before I moved over to the NASCAR on FOX team were with Kurt Busch as team owner Jack Roush put him in my car. After those seven races, I told folks that Kurt had the talent, the passion and the determination to become a champion.

I likened Kurt back to DW. Just like DW, Kurt is high strung. He has to be coached and encouraged. You also have to be ready to deal with him when things don’t go right. Having done that with Darrell, I was prepared for Kurt. Lets face it, DW defined my career. Steve Addington is in a position where the combination of the Busch brothers might define his. Both the Busch boys know how to get to Victory Lane. Steve Addington is a special individual. I truly believe years from now when folks look back at the success of both Kurt and Kyle, Steve will be the integral reason as to why.

Turning the calendar

You have to think the Busch brothers wish that every month of every year would be like May 2010 because they have simply dominated our sport. Kurt won the All-Star Race and the 600 and over $1.4 million in earnings in May alone. Now during his little effort in May, Kyle has won in Cup, Nationwide and the Truck series and pocketed over $750,000.

Now on the other side of the spectrum, there are folks that are thrilled May is over. They include Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson. Normally both are really good this time of the season. However, this May each lost a lot of valuable points, so you know they are entering June looking for a big difference in performance.

Tony Stewart is another one that has finally seemed to stop the bleeding and has to be excited to be heading to Pocono Raceway, where he got a win last year, this weekend. There are 12 races to go before the Chase for the Sprint Cup starts and Tony is just outside the top 12 in the standings. But now is the time for him to run off a string of top-five finishes and maybe throw a win in there to get himself solidly in the Chase.

That will get the team’s confidence going, along with Smoke’s, and that’s what you need when you enter the Chase. It’s basically a 10-race playoff and you want to enter those final 10 races with a lot of confidence.