NASCAR: Kurt Busch's Life Is Good with a New Lucky Charm and Penske Power

It took a mad rant over the radio at Richmond to make the point that something had to change with his No. 22 Penske Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and change it did.

His boss, Roger Penske, got the gang together and pretty much told them they had to come together or it wouldn't be pretty.

Changes were made with personnel and the driver and his team are reaping the rewards. Busch had three consecutive pole positions and now has his first road-course win and first win of the season at Sonoma.

Busch is the 2004 NASCAR Nextel (Sprint Cup) Champion with 23 career wins in the series.

Coming out of Sonoma he swapped positions with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the points. Busch went to third and Junior dropped to seventh place.

While many of the cars looked as though they had barely survived a bad night on a short track, Busch brought his No. 22 to Victory Lane like it just came out of the showroom.

It is obvious Penske Racing has made fruitful changes because not only is Busch running strong, but Brad Keselowski is also  improving with his Blue Deuce.

Except for the times Busch gets irritated with his car and its performance, even if he is running third, he appears to be a calmer person who is well-spoken and very sponsor friendly.

Perhaps his happiness is based on more than his racing endeavors and his outside interests like baseball. We also see a new beauty by his side by the name of Patricia Driscoll.

Could she be his new lucky charm? We may never know what happened with the often photographed Eva Busch whom he married in 2006.

His wife was always beside him at every race and was present at the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Banquet. This season Busch stood alone by his car until just recently.

Ms. Driscoll was there to greet Busch in the winner's circle at Sonoma, so it certainly appears she is his new girlfriend.

Busch also has his Pro Stock NHRA car that he will run whenever it does not conflict with his NASCAR schedule.

It looks as though life is good for the elder Busch brother as he makes a serious run for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title. He is confident he will be a contender and from the looks of thinks he may well be.