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Do we have a new challenger to end Jimmie Johnson's four-year reign atop the Sprint Cup Series?

In the past two races, one driver has stood above all others when it comes to battling Johnson head-to-head for race wins.

It shouldn't be a surprise Kurt Busch is contending for victories. He is, after all, the 2004 series champion.

In recent weeks, and since the addition of crew chief Steve Addington before the start of this season, Busch has been particularly stout. He won the March 7 race at Atlanta and dominated much of Sunday's race at Bristol, Tenn., before Johnson rallied in the final 10 laps, plowing past five cars after a late-race caution, to win for the third time this season.

Busch was particularly upset after the loss Sunday, in large part because he knows how close his No. 2 Penske Racing team is to being on par with Johnson on a consistent basis.

"They are (the team to beat) every week," Busch said of Johnson and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. "It's up to the best of us to knock him off the top. It's rough.

"They've won three times this year. Not that we deserved to win, it's just that they are winning every chance they're given. We just need to position ourselves more to get those wins."

Busch is six in the series standings, 83 points behind Johnson, who is third. Busch has three top-10 finishes in five races and has led 441 laps. He led 738 in all of last season.

Another reason for Busch's disappointment in not leaving Bristol with a victory: Johnson has been especially strong at Martinsville, Va. - site of Sunday's Goody's 500.

"They're going to be tough at Martinsville," Busch said. "That's why I was really pouring my heart and soul into winning (at Bristol). He's going to have a solid car next week."

While Busch owns a race victory at Martinsville (fall 2002), he hasn't finished better than 17th in his past five races at the 0.526-mile short track.

Busch won twice last season and finished fourth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, so he was well-situated for another title run. However, a change in crew chiefs still prompted questions.

Addington had served as crew chief for Kurt's younger brother, Kyle, at Joe Gibbs Racing for most of the past two seasons before joining Penske.

Some NASCAR fans may be surprised at Busch's early-season success because the Penske three-car Cup operation is the only entries with factory support from Dodge.

Not Busch's team owner, Roger Penske.

"We've made a big step forward with Dodge helping us and certainly on the engine side, we think that we're at par (with others)," he said.[[In-content Ad]]

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