Denton drove a second Grier Lackey Dodge in two races in 1996. He piloted the No. 03 Mopar Dodge in his first career race at Martinsville Speedway, starting in 8th place, but finished last (36th) after mechanical woes. He also ran the next race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, starting 7th and finishing 18th.

Denton would make eight starts in 1997, driving for Lackey in the first five of those starts. Denton started 5th at Walt Disney World Speedway before finishing 23rd. Denton had his best run for Lackley with a 16th at Phoenix International Speedway in April, and then bettered that with a 12th-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. Denton switched over to the No. 35 Charles Hardy-owned car and completed three races for the team. His best run was an 18th at Martinsville.

Denton ran the majority of his early Busch Series career for Henderson Motorsports, beginning in 1998. He made his first career start by starting 18th at Bristol and coming home 33rd in the No. 75 for Henderson. Denton also made the fall race, but finished 43rd after an early engine expiration.

In 1999, Denton hoped to run for NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year honors for Henderson with sponsorship from Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce. Unfortunately, the sponsorship deal was canceled, forcing Denton to make only four starts. He started the season off with a finish of 20th at Talladega Superspeedway and that ended up being his best career finish. He was also 22nd at Rockingham in addition to the two Bristol races. Denton finished 41st and 34th in those Bristol races.

Denton would make four starts in 2000, as he finished 38th in the season opening race at Daytona International Speedway. He also went on to once again compete the season races at Bristol. He recorded his best career finish in the spring, as he ended up 15th. However, he only managed 34th in the fall event. Denton also ran for Moy Racing, who hired Denton to drive their No. 77 Ford at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished 30th.

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