'Mutual' split with HMS has Busch looking to future

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It didn't take long for the lobbying to begin. Kyle Busch was flying back from a charity dirt-track event in Macon, Ill., on Thursday night when another passenger began to make subtle inquiries about his situation for next year. With other drivers on the airplane, Ray Evernham knew it wasn't the time to talk in detail. But he made it clear that at some other time, he wanted to.

Days after Busch became the odd man out in the personnel scramble that resulted in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s impending move to Hendrick Motorsports, the suitors were lining up to sign the talented 22-year-old for next season. Evernham Motorsports is interested in him. So is Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team Earnhardt left behind. Meanwhile, Busch is left to ponder the communication breakdown that severed his relationship with the only Nextel Cup team he's ever known.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would leave Hendrick Motorsports or go to a different venture, but neither did Kurt Busch when he joined Roush Racing," he said Friday at Michigan International Speedway. "... I was 17 when I first talked with Mr. Hendrick and signed my deal with Mr. Hendrick. I've had the greatest time and utmost respect for him and everything around his organization that he's put me with, and I look forward to being able to go out and see what I can accomplish somewhere else."

Where else? Maybe the team owned by Evernham, who said Friday that he is "more than prepared" to add a fourth car to his Dodge stable for next season. Maybe DEI, which needs a new driver for its No. 8 car. With four career victories and poised to make a second appearance in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Busch is the hottest free-agent property in the NASCAR garage

"I have a ton of interest in him," Evernham said. "You'd be stupid if you weren't interested in him. We've said we want to grow, and we'd love to have him. I don't know how much Chevrolet is going to try to wrap him up. When you've got Gibbs and Childress and everybody talking about fourth deals, everybody is going to be going out there. So we'll have to wait and see what happens."

Busch's reputation for tempestuousness doesn't scare Evernham away. "It's not like the kid's Mike Tyson," he 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." (Continued)