Consistency pushes Busch into points lead

FORT WORTH, Texas -- He's practically turning into Matt Kenseth.

Unspectacular. But spectacularly consistent.

	Kurt Busch

Busch has completed all but one lap all year -- virtually mirroring Kenseth's 2003 early-season performance.

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Kurt Busch grabbed the points lead on Sunday -- from Kenseth, no less -- with a solid, if uneventful, sixth-place run at Texas.

"We worked on it all day," said Busch, who spent only 82 of the 334 laps in the top 10. "The car kept getting better and better and better."

Busch, fresh off a win last week at Bristol, kept up his hot start to 2004. So far this year, Busch hasn't finished worse than 16th, and since Rockingham, he hasn't finished worse than 12th.

Particularly better this year is Busch's performance on the high-banked 1.5-milers. But Busch says the team will get even better on tracks like Atlanta, Texas and Charlotte.

"At Texas, we now understand you have to free it up a ton (at the start) so that it will turn," Busch said. "With our motor (program) change, if we understand the tire a little better, we will be in full swing."

The sixth-place run at Texas gave him a 19-point lead heading into Martinsville, where Busch won in 2002.

He is clearly getting set for the final 10-race run for the title.

"We're consistent right now, but got to get ready to attack in the final 10," Busch said.