Smack: Busch-whacked

1. So what happens to Kyle Busch now?

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.

On the market

Kyle Busch replaces Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the most coveted free agent in NASCAR.

• Complete story, click here

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.

2. How did the losers in the great "Junior Sweepstakes" lose?

Mark Aumann: I was certainly surprised that it ended up being Hendrick. A month ago, Hendrick said he had no room for Junior. It sure seemed like Childress was the obvious choice.

Dave Rodman: I think when Rick said there was no room at the inn, he believed it. But somewhere between there and when his extension negotiations with Kyle broke down, something -- or things -- happened.

Joe Menzer: Well, all along I mistakenly thought Childress was the frontrunner. And when Hendrick said there was no room at the inn, I actually believed him.

Dave Rodman: With what Junior himself said, I did not think RCR was the leading choice. From a competition standpoint, very close. But Junior's discomfort at being there kinda nixed it, in my mind.

Mark Aumann: Yeah, but did you know that before he spoke Wednesday, Dave? I don't know that we ever got that feeling in advance of the announcement.

Joe Menzer: You know, I've got to give Darrell Waltrip credit. The day Junior said he was leaving DEI, he said that Junior might be uncomfortable in his daddy's shadow at RCR.

Dave Rodman: I thought the interview that DW did with Junior right after the conference at JR Motorsports in May -- which played during the race the following weekend -- was possibly the best work Darrell has ever done in the media. That was where Junior expressed his reservations about working with RCR -- and that ended that, in my mind.

Joe Menzer: And Darrell said to us there that he thought Junior would end up at Hendrick -- "because Rick would treat him like a son." Isn't it ironic that Junior ends up leaving DEI to go to Hendrick so he can be treated "like a son?"

Dave Rodman: I always thought Hendrick was the leading option, but I thought they would do it through some kind of satellite deal.

Joe Menzer: And you never got the feeling that it was going to happen at Gibbs. There was the conflict over bringing Bud on board (Joe wasn't going to do it), and J.D. Gibbs seemed very hesitant about starting a fourth team.

Mark Aumann: I really thought Gibbs might have been the best fit. Junior and Tony would have been tremendous together.

Dave Rodman: Both Joe and J.D. Gibbs made it clear from the start why it probably wouldn't work for them.

Joe Menzer: The Gibbs' reservations left me thinking that in the end, Ginn Racing was going to be a player. Turns out, though, that Hendrick is really where Junior wanted to go all along.

Dave Rodman: And if Rick could fit him in, that was the only place for him to go.

Mark Aumann: Yeah, I don't think Ginn's got enough of a reputation to pull in someone like Junior. Those are good cars, but not great ones.

Dave Rodman: Junior would have been in a pressure cooker there, to be the leader, where at Hendrick he can just be a teammate.

Mark Aumann: At Hendrick, Junior basically becomes third banana behind Gordon and Johnson, after being the top dog at DEI. How will that play out, I wonder?

Dave Rodman: If you think about it, Junior never played the role of strutting around like he was the top dog. I think he'll prove at Hendrick that he's the ultimate team player.

Mark Aumann: Perhaps Junior will like the fact that some of the constant attention will be aimed somewhere else.

Dave Rodman: Junior being Junior, he's always going to be under a microscope. And Junior being at Hendrick will only increase the wattage.

Mark Aumann: By the way, Joe -- what's with all that smoke in the air around Charlotte today? Brush fires or fans burning their No. 8 stuff?

Joe Menzer: Are you kidding me? That No. 8 Budweiser stuff might now end up being very valuable. Suddenly it could be old-school collectible stuff.

Mark Aumann: It's still delicious irony that Junior subbed for Kyle after the crash at Texas.

Dave Rodman: Yeah, but pure coincidence.

Joe Menzer: Agreed. And I think what happened was that Kyle was at least listening hard to lots of overtures from others in the garage area, about coming to drive for them if something happened. And where there's smoke, usually a fire follows -- and I'm not talking about No. 8 stuff burning, either.

Mark Aumann: Well, Kyle was stuck as the No. 3 guy on that team.

Dave Rodman: But only an impetuous, borderline fool would not want to learn from two champion teammates -- both of whom are willing teachers.

Mark Aumann: And you have to wonder if he wanted to see what he was worth.

Dave Rodman: But the most troubling aspect is, if you're a KB fan -- there is no place better to be than Hendrick Motorsports -- so if you had a choice, why on earth would you choose to leave? That might be the ultimate immature mistake.

Joe Menzer: He's 22. He's not sure what he wants. But I'll bet he'll be mighty motivated to prove how good a driver he is if he ends up at DEI.

Dave Rodman: Because no matter what he's making, he probably couldn't triple it and get back to the competitive level of equipment he has at HMS.

Mark Aumann: Roush Racing a couple of years ago was equal to Hendrick now -- and yet several of those drivers have left. It's the nature of the beast. If you think there's a better opportunity, go for it.

Joe Menzer: As far as Roush, I think he's always looking over the horizon for the next great young driver. Ask Jeff Burton. When the new guys come in over there, the older guys sometimes seem to get shunted to the side.

Mark Aumann: I wonder how much input Kyle got from Kurt on this? Since Kurt did the Roush to Penske move.

3. Now that the circus has left town, what's on the horizon in Michigan?

Travel Log

While Joe Menzer is at the track all weekend, there's plenty for everyone else to do around the Brooklyn, Mich., village.

• Complete story, click here

Joe Menzer: I'll tell you what's on the horizon in Michigan: More Junior, Junior and Junior. People will want to talk with Childress and Gibbs about why they didn't land him.

Dave Rodman: Ugh. I'm over it already. I think Kyle -- as he obviously was -- is the key to the whole thing. Junior getting back into the Chase is the most relevant -- only relevant -- Junior topic right now.

Joe Menzer: They'll want to talk with Kyle Busch about what happened with him and where he's going. And then, thankfully, the race will start and we can all talk about something else for a change.

Mark Aumann: Michigan unfortunately can be yawn-inducing at times. Perhaps a weather strategy race like Pocono's would be beneficial.

Joe Menzer: I know you guys probably think I'm crazy, but I've never been to Michigan and I'm looking forward to going.

Dave Rodman: In a lot of ways, Michigan was always my favorite place to go on the circuit: For the golf, the country and the staff at the track. You notice I didn't say "getting to the track?"

Joe Menzer: That said, a friend of mine who is as big a NASCAR fan as I know went there a couple years ago and said he's never going back. Bad race -- horrible traffic.

Mark Aumann: Well, go west to Ann Arbor, find a two-lane farm road and zig-zag southwest until you run into the track traffic.

Joe Menzer: I'm following David Caraviello!

Mark Aumann: It's pretty countryside, especially when you've got several hours to ponder it. Lots of farms and golf courses. Michigan sure knows how to grow nice green grass.

Dave Rodman: Michigan is one of the most easily solved traffic nightmares I've ever been involved in. And that's as much as I'll say.

Joe Menzer: I'd rather listen to Mark talk about the Michigan countryside!

Mark Aumann: Cool thing is all the local folks sitting on their lawn chairs by the side of the road, watching the traffic jam.

Dave Rodman: If it's a jam and they were sitting there, they'd be participants, wouldn't they?

Joe Menzer: Before y'all get too excited about Michigan, though, remember that the greater state of Ohio lies just to her south.

Dave Rodman: If you're smart, that's where you'll fly into -- Toledo.

Joe Menzer: I might just take the Woody Hayes approach. He would go on recruiting trips to Michigan -- but would refuse to spend a dime in the state!

Mark Aumann: Well, being a native Michigander, I'll have to stick up for the folks in the thumb and the U.P. Have a pastie while you're there.

Joe Menzer: One time Woody refused to stop for gas even though it was snowing and he was about to run out. Had to get to Toledo across the state line before he would stop!

Dave Rodman: You telling me he'd pack a cooler with drinks and sandwiches? Sounds like the perfect race fan.

Joe Menzer: Now that's a fuel-mileage strategy you don't often hear about.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.