Written by: SPEED Staff
Concord, NC – 6/13/2007

Kyle Busch will finish the 2007 Season in No. 5 Chevrolet.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports and four-time Nextel Cup race winner, will depart Hendrick Motorsports at the conclusion of the 2007 season.

The following is a statement from Busch regarding the decision to leave:

“We had been working on a contract extension for me to remain at Hendrick Motorsports, but after prolonged negotiations, we mutually agreed that a fresh start was in order. I have been granted a release after the 2007 season.

“I have tremendous respect for Mr. Hendrick and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s where I grew up, and I have a lot of great memories.

“I kind of feel like I’m graduating. I’m excited about my future, and I know a lot of opportunities await because of what everyone at Hendrick did for me – on the track and off.

“I still have a job to do this year, and will give it my all – just as I’ve always done – to make sure we put the No. 5 car in victory lane a few more times before the year is out.”

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This will be interesting. Everyone knew that Jr would end up somewhere, but what about the outfall of the situation. Obviously there was "trouble in paradise" with Kyle and HMS. Now where does Kyle go? Will someone give him a 3rd or 4th car in their stable or will he bump someone from their ride? Will he go to DEI and slide into the 8 car? I'd like to watch this and see if there is a true domino effect.

I don't like Kyle at all, but I wish him the best. He has great talent, but needs to settle down. It just seems that every time he seems to straighten himself out something else happens.

I've heard a lot of rumors he's had some serious talks with DEI and will end up there next year.

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Here's what the "experts" have to say...

Dave Rodman: It will be interesting to see if it creates any kind of domino effect. To a degree, I think he can about name his place, because he's certainly the most talented athlete available.

Mark Aumann: With Junior off the list, Kyle Busch becomes the free agent everyone wants. He's young, he's talented, he's aggressive -- he's a handful. That could be a turnoff to some owners.

Joe Menzer: Yes, he can be ridiculously immature. But he's also enormously talented. And last time I checked, this sport needed more drivers who wheeled it aggressively, not fewer.

Mark Aumann: He's a driver that, with some maturity, could be your ace. If you're looking for someone to build a team around, Kyle Busch could be around for the next 20 years.

Dave Rodman: Maybe the most fascinating thing is how all the personnel are going to shake out -- and of course, the sponsors. Rick said that's all still to be determined, so is "Junior and [Tony] Junior" with Hendrick equipment an intriguing proposition? Definitely.

Mark Aumann: Still, with RCR and Penske hinting about adding one more team for 2008, you wonder what Busch could command?

Dave Rodman: He only has momentary lapses. The rest of the time, you don't even need to argue you're getting a helluva wheelman.

Joe Menzer: I think he's a very hot commodity, despite his personal shortcomings.

Dave Rodman: I still think there were a number of little things that added up to spilling over the cart and dumping Kyle out.

Mark Aumann: I could envision him switching makes, too. Would Toyota be willing to pony up big bucks to land him?

Joe Menzer: Hmmm, Kyle Busch in a Toyota? Not sure about that. But if one of those teams threw enough cash his way, why not? That's the one thing Toyota hasn't been shy about in Cup racing, throwing money around.

Dave Rodman: I feel like if he wanted to go that manufacturer-building route, he could name his Toyota team.

Joe Menzer: Well, it would be perfect NASCAR drama just to have him end up at DEI, have DEI and Hendrick swap the numbers on the cars, and then have everybody roll with it. But there will be other suitors as well.

Dave Rodman: The number deal is touchy. The 8 is Junior's, even though it "belongs" to DEI. The 5, on the other hand, is pure HMS and is their charter number. Not sure Rick would want to part with it.

Mark Aumann: Bottom line: How important is the No. 8 to Teresa? If that was Ralph's number, what connection does she feel toward it?

Joe Menzer: At the news conference Wednesday, Rick indicated he would be willing to discuss a swap of the 5 and the 8.

Dave Rodman: See that, Joe -- possession is nine-tenths of the law, and you were a step ahead of me.

Mark Aumann: Well, with the 1, 5 and 15, Teresa could save money on numbers. All she'd need then is the 51.

Joe Menzer: The 8 is Junior's number now. I don't think anybody would argue that -- or at least not argue it in a court of law and win.

Mark Aumann: Here's a wacky thought: What if Teresa could trade the 8 for rights to the 3?

Dave Rodman: That is wacky. Why would RC get involved in this mess?

Joe Menzer: Trading the 8 for rights to the 3 made sense if Junior had ended up at Childress. Don't see it happening now, although with the joint RCR-DEI engine venture and other stuff on the horizon, who knows?

Dave Rodman: And I think she probably has all the rights to that that she needs -- or enough cooperation with Childress to keep things cool, there.

Joe Menzer: Richard might trade for the 8 and then trade it to Rick. But geez, this is getting kind of silly, isn't it? Bottom line is that Junior should end up in the 8 if he wants it. And he does -- he's made that perfectly clear.

Dave Rodman: But no matter how popular he is, he can't expect traditions to end on his whim.

Mark Aumann: Childress hunting in New Zealand: Why does that conjure up images of Elmer Fudd and "Shhhhhhhh! I'm hunting wabbits!"

Joe Menzer: Thirty-pound wabbits, no less, from what I hear!

Dave Rodman: I could see DEI making a swap with the 8 for the owner points of the 5 -- and letting Rick keep the number. Don't know, now, if NASCAR would let that fly.

Joe Menzer: That ain't gonna happen, and you know it. Thirty-pound wabbits will fly before that happens.

On Thursday, it became obvious that the honeymoon was over in relation to Hendrick Motorsports’ signing of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kyle Busch, the driver Earnhardt Jr. will replace next year, basically called owner Rick Hendrick a liar on a Sirius satellite-radio call-in show.

According to Hendrick, he and Busch mutually agreed that leaving the team would be best for both parties. Hendrick also said Busch told him other teams had approached him. A gracious statement was issued in Busch’s name at the same time the press conference announcing Earnhardt’s hiring was taking place. Not so, said Busch.

“Well, you know, this is all brand new,” said Busch. “I hadn’t talked or discussed or done anything with any other team. There had been a rumor that flew around that I was unhappy at Hendrick Motorsports, which was untrue. I was just frustrated with the way things were going, that I wasn’t able to get results. We had been running good and been fast everywhere, but we just had some bad luck and were crashing, and whatever.

“That rumor started, and then after that rumor, it was that I was getting offers from other teams, which, I had never talked to anybody.”

Busch said he hadn’t been given any indication that he wouldn’t be back at Hendrick until Monday.

Gaston Gazette

Yates interested in Kyle Busch...and Kurt too: Add Robert Yates Racing [#38 and #88] to the list of teams interested in signing Kyle Busch to drive next season. "I've sent word through his agent [that I would like to talk to him]," RYR co-owner Robert Yates said on Thursday during a Ford function. "I'm very interested." Said Yates' son, Doug, "He would look good in a Ford." RYR not only wants Kyle, but his brother #2-Kurt. But Kurt Busch has three years remaining on his deal with Penske Racing, and according to his agent has no plans to leave. "That's flattering," said Kurt's agent, John Caponigro. "He's locked in at Penske. He's doing fine. He's looking forward to making the Chase this year and having lot of success at Penske Racing." Kyle became available on Wednesday when it was announced that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was signed to replace him at Hendrick Motorsports next season and that the 22-year-old Busch has been given his release from the final year of his deal in 2008. Bruce Kempton, who represents Kyle, said he's heard from just about every organization in the Nextel Cup garage. He said there had been no contact with RYR, but that his client was willing to listen to anyone. Among the teams other than RYR that have expressed an interest in Kyle are the Chevrolet teams of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing. While Busch has driven Chevrolets since he left Ford's Roush Racing after the 2001 Truck Series season, he is not married to the manufacturer.(ESPN.com).(6-15-2007)

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jr. kurt, matt, and so many others....
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By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
June 14, 2007

CHICAGO – If anyone needed an example of how quickly fortunes and futures in stock car racing can turn south, all they had to do was look in Kyle Busch's eyes Thursday.

When we sat down for lunch, Busch clearly looked tired.

"I've only had about five hours of sleep the last three nights," he admitted.

Busch, of course, will be the odd man out at Hendrick come 2008 now that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on his way. So when did he find out about Junior's arrival?

To that question, Busch's eyes turned downward.

"Monday," he told Yahoo! Sports, with disappointment in his voice.

Less than 48 hours later, Earnhardt would tell the world that he was jumping to Hendrick Motorsports, leaving Busch looking for a new ride.

The 22-year-old Las Vegas native tried to be diplomatic and say that his decision to leave the Hendrick fold was a "mutual decision," but perhaps his demeanor Thursday implied otherwise.

If team owner Rick Hendrick tells you that he thinks it might be best for both sides to go in different directions, who is Busch to argue to stay in a situation where he obviously no longer was wanted?

This despite Hendrick saying countless times over the last four years that Busch was the future face of Hendrick Motorsports, that he considered Busch to be like a son.

One has to wonder how meaningful those words were, as Busch suddenly has taken on the persona of the high school nerd who was dissed by his cheerleader girlfriend for the handsome quarterback.

When Dale Jr. said he wanted to hook up, Rick Hendrick swooned like a love-struck teenager. And with that, all the years, the effort, the loyalty that Busch displayed suddenly was deemed unimportant.

"It's something I never thought about and never expected," Busch said. "It's disappointing. I didn't really want it to come to this, but it did."

Admittedly, negotiations on a contract extension between Hendrick and Busch – his current deal still has a year left on it through 2008 – had hit some snags in recent weeks. But it wasn't enough to make Busch think anything was amiss.

"No, I didn't think it was going to come to this," he said.

Hendrick tells a slightly different tale.

"We started talking (about three weeks ago) trying to get things finished up and in those conversations it became pretty obvious to both of us that maybe a fresh start might be good for both of us," Hendrick said. "We decided it would be good for (Kyle) to pursue (other opportunities) and for me to be able to pursue this opportunity with Junior."

But with the disappointment comes opportunity. In an ironic sort of way, Busch now has become the most sought-after free agent in NASCAR.

"You can look at it on the bright side, and that's what I'm going to do," Busch said. "The sky can be bluer, the grass can be greener and we can look forward to it."

There's plenty of room for him with organizations such as Richard Childress Racing, Robert Yates Racing, Ginn Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing (where older brother Kurt races) and yes, even as a possible replacement for Earnhardt at DEI.

"I think the teams know what I can do," he said with a bit of confidence emerging from his downtrodden face. "They've seen me race for three, four years now, so it's not that anything's going to change or be any different in that respect."

There are no frontrunners for his services yet, Busch said, but there have been plenty of phone calls in the last 48 hours, which heartens him and dulls some of the pain.

"There's been some good interest," he admits. "I'm very flattered and fortunate to be in that situation. I look forward to being able to see what will be in my best interest.

"I haven't even talked to anybody yet, so I need to listen. I need to do a bunch of listening here in the next little bit."

After having played third-fiddle to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson the last two years, Busch isn't necessarily looking to become No. 1 someplace else, but he won't discard the idea, either.

"No, (being No. 1 is) not at the top of my books," he said. "What's most important to me is going somewhere where I feel I can be competitive, I can win races, I can get results and ultimately compete for championships. And I'd have a strong foundation and the right people built around me."

Busch says he'll continue to give 100 percent over the remainder of the season not only to qualify for the Chase, but also to leave HMS as a champion. He also notes that Junior may not have as easy a time ahead of him as he thinks.

For while Hendrick has preached for years that there is no pecking order at HMS and that all four teams are treated the same, the reality is Gordon has been and will continue to be No. 1, Johnson No. 2 and Junior will have to be content to be No. 3, at least until his performance merits otherwise.

"The teams know there is (a pecking order)," Busch said. "We all understand, being at the 5/25 shop, that the 24/48 shop is the powerhouse."

While he writes the last chapter of his HMS era, Busch hinted that while he's still disappointed, maybe what happened was best for him.

"It's just frustration at some things, wrecking race cars and whatever and stuff like that, and not having quite the backing maybe that I thought I wanted or needed. Maybe (it was time) for a change."


Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR columnist. Send Jerry a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

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