Free agent Busch has offers to consider
Hendrick Motorsports sent him packing to make room for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — For a kid who just lost his job, Kyle Busch is certainly on top of the NASCAR world.
Busch became NASCAR’s newest free agent when he was pushed out of Hendrick Motorsports so the team could make room for Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s opened a ton of opportunities for the talented but temperamental driver, as at least six of the top Nextel Cup owners are on record as being interested in signing him.
And, believe it or not, Busch has far more opportunities than Earnhardt did.
Earnhardt had very firm criteria during his job search, which was limited to only the top Chevrolet teams in NASCAR. He wants to win a championship, and at age 32, the clock is ticking on his career. He couldn’t gamble with his choice, and realistically only had three teams to choose from.
More options
Busch doesn’t have the same restrictions. He can drive a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge — maybe even a Toyota — and at 10 years younger than Junior, Busch has a much bigger window to find success. Busch can take a risk, perhaps sign with a smaller team, and become the cornerstone of a long-term plan.
“I’m interested in talking to anybody who wants to talk,” Busch said. “Whether it’s DEI, whether it’s Gibbs, RCR, Evernham, Yates, whoever’s got an open seat. Whatever, lets go, let’s sit down. Let’s have dinner.”
Armed with a new agent — he fired his previous representation last week when his job at Hendrick fell apart — Busch spent the weekend at Michigan International Speedway laying the groundwork for what should be a lucrative new deal.
He was matter-of-fact when discussing his impending split from Hendrick, where he signed shortly before his 18th birthday. He had nothing but praise for Rick Hendrick, and insisted the split was mutual after talks on an extension had stalled right about the time Junior hit the market.
Michigan weekend
Busch chatted with fans, signed autographs on pit road, and hung out with University of Michigan football players in front of his hauler.
And his performance on the track was stellar: He nearly won the Truck Series race, finishing second, and was sixth in the Nextel Cup event.
It was a major spin at a time when Busch has never had more at stake — he controls his destiny, and his worth has never been greater. But after listening to the interested car owners, Busch didn’t need to do any damage control.
“I’m interested because he’s a talented driver,” Ganassi said. “If he was a no-talent driver, nobody would be interested in him.”
Racing is no different than any other sport in that performance and potential go a long way toward masking personality issues, and there’s no denying that Busch has a mix of both.
Bumpy ride
He’s got four Cup wins and made the Chase for the championship last season, but it’s never been a smooth ride. Busch has been criticized for his driving style — even older brother, Kurt, accused him last month of being too aggressive — and many veterans have fumed over his arrogance.
He’s had some eyebrow-raising behavior, such as storming out of a news conference, throwing a safety device at Casey Mears and launching an ungracious rant against NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow after winning its debut race.
“If you make a simple comparison, it’s not like the kid’s Mike Tyson,” Evernham said. “He’s not out grabbing women and doing drugs. He has a temper, and he says things once in a while. To me, that’s not really a bad thing.
“It’s hard to take a guy you want to be total fire and drive that thing on the line every minute, and then expect him not to be emotional. You’ve just got to try to help somebody like that control his emotions.”