Busch started the 2013 season crashing in the Sprint Unlimited on lap 14, finishing in 13th place. He finished fifth in the Budweiser Duel, but poor handling made him finish the Daytona 500 in 28th place, five laps down. He did not improve much the next week at Phoenix, where he finished one lap down in twenty-seventh place. He then had a twentieth-place finish at Las Vegas. After three less successful runs, he hit a resurgence, getting a fourth-place finish at Bristol.