Kurt Busch not surprised by lack of NASCAR penalty for Talladega incident

Kurt Busch stepped out of Furniture Row Racing’s hauler and declared Thursday was a new day.

“For us, 2013 starts today,” Busch said at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the first at-track appearance with his new No. 78 team.

Busch said he would take the next six weeks to concentrate on the basics: Learning the names of his new crewmen and getting familiar with how the team works. He’s interested, too, to see what it’s like being teammates with Richard Childress Racing drivers Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton (RCR and Furniture Row have a close technical alliance).

The driver said he’ll use information gathered from both Penske Racing and Phoenix Racing (plus Hendrick Motorsports, by association) to help get his new team off on the right foot.

“What I have in my mind and what I’ve done over the last 18 months, I need to translate that to them,” he said.

Of course, there was some speculation Busch wouldn’t debut for Furniture Row this weekend after he was parked at Talladega for driving away from a safety worker. NASCAR, though, decided not to penalize him further.

Busch said he wasn’t surprised NASCAR elected not to issue a fine or suspension.

“We were all on the same page afterwards,” Busch said. “It’s tough to penalize a guy that’s got the heart and desire to get back in the race. Our day wasn’t quite done, and it was my last day with the team. I was just trying to give it my all.”