OK, so this story is a little hard to believe -- but Kurt Busch swears it is true.

Kurt was in the middle of a family photo shoot with little brother Kyle Busch last October when Kyle's cell phone rang with what appeared to be bad news. Or at least Kurt took it that way.

"We were taking our family portrait for our Christmas cards and I was like, 'What just happened?' Because he hung up the phone in a weird manner and kind of was mumbling around and kicking the grass. And then he said, 'Well, Steve's not gonna be my crew chief anymore.' " Busch recalled recently.

“

The credentials he brings were the deciding factor.We had looked at a guy internally, and I was ready to go with him. But somebody of Steve's caliber and status made me really reevaluate where we needed to go.

”

-- KURT BUSCH

Steve is Steve Addington, who was removed as Kyle Busch's crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing with three races remaining in the 2009 season. Oddly enough, Kurt already knew he was losing his own crew chief for the No. 2 Dodge he drives for Penske Racing, with Pat Tryson moving on to become crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. at Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the '09 campaign.

So big bro immediately had a notion to call Addington to see if he wanted to talk about a new job.

"I was like, 'Gimme his phone number.' Because I knew Pat was leaving us," Kurt said. "And Kyle said, 'Well, you're smart. You're smart enough to find it on your own.' He wouldn't give it to me. He was still just a bit distorted on what had just happened, and he's always been like that. He's never been one to make it easy.

"But that was cool. I already had J.D. [Gibbs'] phone number from back when we talked when Kyle came into his program. So I called J.D. right away."

Gibbs, team president for JGR, highly recommended the man he had removed as Kyle's crew chief in favor of Dave Rogers. And Addington, who had been crew chief of the No. 18 car at JGR for nearly five years, was ready to listen to what the older Busch had to offer.

"When the phone started ringing, Kurt Busch was the first one on the other end, wanting me to come and talk to him about coming to work for him," Addington said, who pointed out that Kyle inherited him as crew chief at JGR when the younger Busch was forced out at Hendrick Motorsports and first signed on to drive the 18. "That's the biggest difference, from my point of view. Kurt wants me to be there. That's big for me. That's a confidence builder."

So Addington quickly agreed to come on board at Penske.

There are those in the Cup garage who wondered openly then and now if Addington is a glutton for punishment. For the uninitiated, let's just say the Busch brothers haven't always been known to spread brotherly love to their crew chiefs during races when they believe their cars aren't operating up to their high standards.

Addington laughs about the perception that any crew chief who works for one of the Busch brothers needs to have thick skin. Kurt, in particular, has been known to come over the team radio during a race and verbally blister anyone who dares to try to calm him down -- including respected car owner Roger Penske.

"I'm a firm believer that all things happen for a reason. I listened to Kurt over the last few races -- scanning him during the races and just hanging out and listening to him and paying attention to it. To me, it was pretty easy. I didn't think he was that bad," Addington said.

"Listen, I understand where [the drivers] are coming from. They're competitive. They want to win every time they go out on the race track. I think that's where the difference is -- and where I'm more comfortable with Kurt is that he's been through it. I think he's going to voice his opinion and get over it that day." (Continued)