HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Take a good, hard look at that scrawny kid in the Rubbermaid racing uniform, because while Mark Martin is the one contending for this year's title, Kurt Busch's 'I'm-24-going-on-16' face is the future of Roush Racing.

And though the future may appear to be now -- the guy is on the pole for Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and coming off four straight top-six finishes -- Busch is here to tell you that you ain't seen nothing, yet.

	Kurt Busch's red-hot finish to this season will put him among the title favorites for next year.

As hot as he's been in the last 10 races, leaping from 12th to third in the standings, Busch isn't sad to see the season end. Sure, he's like to stay on his roll, but he's got big plans for next year, too.

"It is somewhat of a shame to know that we've rallied and gained so many points in this last quarter, but all good things must come to an end," the driver of the No. 97 Ford said. "I wasn't in position to win a championship in February of 2002. February 2003 feels a heck of a lot better."

Almost one year has passed since Busch received the phone call that would change his career — the call that has him hoping to be within striking distance of his first title one year from today.

It was December 2001, and Busch had just flown to New York after a disastrous rookie campaign in which he finished 27th in the points and even failed to make one race. He knew change was on the horizon, but feared the change would lead to another year of adjustment.

The phone rang early in the morning at Busch's New York City hotel room, and Roush Racing's general manager told Busch that Jimmy Fennig, Martin's crew chief of many years, would become his new crew chief and Martin would work with Busch's old chief, Ben Leslie.

That news put some of Busch's fears to rest. The balance of his concerns went away after Busch and Fennig tested together during the off season.

"When I first worked with Jimmy testing at Daytona for this year, I was intimidated," Busch said. "He knew so much more than I did."

Of the many things the 49-year-old knew that Busch didn't was how to make the kid feel comfortable and how to speed up the adjustment process for the two to get used to each other.

After testing at Daytona, Fennig rigged a car to act awkwardly on the track and sent Busch off in it. Busch struggled to explain what was going on, but when he met with Fennig and heard Fennig explain to Busch exactly what Busch was feeling, Busch understood that the two had just laid out a language they could use throughout the year.

When the season began, the communication seemed to work fine. There was one month, though, when it looked like Busch was headed for a slump that might have left him in no better position than where he finished 2001.

That month was August, when Busch failed to finish three straight events, placing 41st, 41st and 39th in those races.

"I believe it was the dismal month of August that really (motivated us)," Busch said. "You would have thought a lot of teams or drivers or crew members or anybody involved with three DNFs in a row would have let the season go at that point. We fell from fifth to 12th in points and that there has been my driving force -- to get back to where I think the 97 Rubbermaid team belongs and to give back to (team owner) Jack Roush for what he believed in me on what we could get done."

With that will to bounce back, combined with Fennig's experience and resolve, Busch has put on a clinic on precisely how to close out a season. He's got nine top-10s in the 11 races since that last DNF, including those back-to-back victories.

And when asked about the turnaround, both driver and crew chief point the other way.

"He's the wizard that controls it all," Busch says of Fennig.

"Is that right?" Fennig says upon hearing this. "Well, he's the fearless driver that makes it happen out there."

That's what the relationship between the two has evolved into -- a mutually beneficial union where each respects the other and shares a single goal. That goal -- winning -- will be taken to the next level in 2003. This year, the team won its first race. Then it won its second and third in back-to-back fashion last month. Now, when it speaks of winning, the guys are talking about a championship.

"By this time, I think the Rubbermaid Ford could have won five or six different races and could have been in a points championship battle, but it wasn't our time," Busch said. "There are times that you do things to win races and times when you have a shot at championships, but there's a learning curve that you go through first. This year wasn't a waste at all, it was a great learning curve.

"Whether we live up to it or not next year, that will be known when the time comes, but we'll carry this momentum right to where we need to and that's applying pressure and finishing up front every week."

With the way the team -- not just the driver-crew chief battery -- is synchronized now, that shouldn't be a problem.

"It's like a perfect blend of chemistry everywhere -- whether it's on pit road (or) at the shop," Busch said. "I'm just so impressed with the way these guys have been able to adapt to me and the way Jimmy Fennig controls the situation. It's just too much fun."

Going into 2003, this team expects to contend for a championship, so if it runs out of races while on a hot streak like this year -- it won't be as acceptable. For now, however, simply pulling out a top-three finish in points would be a tremendous boost.

"Third in points is where we're at right now and that would be a great victory if we can keep that on Sunday," Busch said. "So we're not sad and we're not happy to see the end of the year, but the time has come.

"Not many drivers would give themselves good grades. They'll always say that there's room to do this and there's for that. I'd say that we've had an 'A' season. It's a great year for us with the way things have progressed internally and, of course, on the race track and results-wise. To have three wins at this point and be a contender (for a top three), and to make it through that month of August that we had, it's a sign of the strength of the team on how nothing wants to get us down and how we always want to go forward.

"Last year it was a tough year being a rookie, but this year I think we've exceeded our expectations and we just have to stay focused on what the job is at hand and that's getting exposure for the sponsors and, of course, getting the good finishes."

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for The Raleigh News & Observer and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.