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."

He will need to get over it quickly, Addington said, because how a team works its way through the difficult times often defines who well it will be able to flourish in the good ones.

"That's one thing I told him coming in there: when our backs are against the wall, we've all gotta be turned and facing the same direction. That's the big key to it," Addington said.

“

I want to win a championship -- and I think I've put myself in the best position to do that.

”

-- STEVE ADDINGTON

"The experience Kurt has, going through the up and down seasons and realizing what it takes to run for a championship, because he's won one before [in 2004]. That's a really big part of it, being patient and taking those bad days and making the best of them."

Addington helped guide Kyle Busch to 12 Cup victories in the less than two seasons they were together, but oftentimes it was feast or famine. Driver, crew chief and management at JGR all were deeply disappointed when Kyle narrowly failed to qualify for the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup field that determines the season's champion, falling eight points short.

Kurt Busch won two races last season with Tryson atop his pit box and finished fourth in the points standings, trailing only four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson and two of Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammates in Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Kurt said he took note not only of all the races Addington helped his little brother win on the Cup side, but also the earlier success Addington enjoyed during a 15-year stint as crew chief in the Nationwide Series.

"The credentials he brings were the deciding factor," Busch said. "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."

Addington, 45, said serving as crew chief for another Busch brother did not for a moment give him pause to consider turning down Kurt's job offer. He reiterated his belief that Kurt's legendary verbal explosions over the radio during races are often overblown by fans and media.

"It's not that bad, guys. From somebody who sits in my seat, it's cool to have somebody who is that intense; it's cool to have somebody who wants to win that bad," Addington said. "I've been in different situations in my career, even in the Busch [now Nationwide] Series, where you're trying to light that fire under the driver -- and it's easier to cool them down than it is to try to light it.

"I've probably been called worse outside the box than what y'all have heard me get called on Sundays. That stuff doesn't bother me and has never bothered me. The bad part of that -- and I've told Kurt this -- is that people hear that and they think it's a bad relationship between the crew chief and driver. And it's not.

"I can tell you that from talking with Pat Tryson. He said, 'No matter how bad it got, I told Roger that cat can drive that race car -- and I can deal with that quicker than I can deal with someone who's going to be content with riding around 25th in the race car.' That's the way we think. What you [in the media] hear and put out there and take out of it is different."

All of which begs one more question: do Kurt and Kyle, who haven't always gotten along on the race track, really get together for a family Christmas card photo shoot every year?

"It was a family thing. Mom sent 'em all out. But yeah, we all sat there for a pretty cool photo," said Kurt, smiling.

"We had our dogs and not a western theme, but an old-school theme. We had an old DeSoto out in front of one of these old houses that we have. It was fun stuff. Ah, we get together all the time."

Addington said he wouldn't mind seeing them get together on the race track -- not wrecking each other, but battling for the win in the upcoming Daytona 500 and perhaps even for the Sprint Cup championship down the road.

"As long as Kurt finishes first and Kyle second," joked Addington, who insisted that he left JGR on good terms and harbors no ill will toward anyone there. "They wanted me to stay there and do something in a Nationwide capacity or something, but I just felt I had unfinished business left in this [Sprint Cup] garage area. I want to win a championship -- and I think I've put myself in the best position to do that."