JOLIET, Ill. -- Kyle Busch is beginning to sound like a man without a country. Or at least a racecar driver without a true home.

Sure, the No. 5 Chevrolet he still pilots for Hendrick Motorsports continues to perform well. Busch qualified in the sixth position Friday for this Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, running a fast lap of 181.886 mph.

But afterward, as he talked with a gaggle of media on pit road, Busch did not back off earlier comments he made about his increasingly uncomfortable lame-duck status at Hendrick. He was the odd man out when Hendrick recently signed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to a five-year contract, beginning next season, and continues to go through the process of deciding which organization he will drive for beginning in 2008.

Busch was upset after finishing second -- by inches -- to race winner Jamie McMurray in last Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He said then -- and repeated Friday -- that he thought he could have won the race with a little help from his, um, former friends. (watch video)

He still doesn't think he got it from his Hendrick teammates.

"It's just been a difficult transition period from what I felt like was a really good team chemistry that was going on between all the drivers and all the teams [at Hendrick]," Busch said. "Since that transition period came when Junior announced he joining Hendrick Motorsports, it's been real different. I'm just frustrated in all of that, in last week's result and the way it came down."

Busch claimed that Gordon "blew him off" after the conclusion of the Pepsi 400, although Gordon denied that charge and said he gave Busch a thumbs-up while conducting a post-race television interview. Busch knows that he is under contractual obligation to finish this season with Hendrick. But he admitted that he doesn't ever expect it to go back to the way it once was.

"It used to be where we called each other and talked to each other and text-messaged back and forth," Busch said. "I had a sit-down with Jeff just before the [Coca-Cola] 600 [in May]. That went very well. Since all that happened [with Earnhardt Jr. signing], I'm in the team meetings sitting there listening. I don't even talk about what my car does because they all seem to talk amongst themselves. I sort of just sit there in the corner."

Gordon said Friday that he hadn't had a chance to talk with Busch since the Daytona race, but that he would welcome the opportunity.

"I haven't had the chance to talk to him personally," Gordon said. "I've talked to his team and [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and certainly a lot of folks at Hendrick, and I'll be looking to talk to Kyle. I just had a full day. I thought I was going to get a chance to do it and I got here to the track, but it was just too late.

"I didn't want to talk to him on the phone. I want to talk to him face-to-face. I think everything's fine. I don't see any issues there."

Perhaps Gordon doesn't, but it seems that Busch does. He made it clear that he has no intention of helping any of his current Hendrick teammates over the second half of this season.

"I'm not helping anybody but myself and this [No. 5] team for winning races," Busch said. "I'm not helping Jeff Gordon; I'm not helping Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears. They're able to go back and see what I run, but for me it's just to go out there and try to win races and keep winning with my name."

Busch added that he hopes to determine who he will be racing with next season fairly soon. He said it could be as soon as two weeks and might be as long as six weeks, adding that he has whittled down the candidates to "four and a half teams" -- explaining that he is still talking to one team but it has all but been eliminated.

It is believed the top four teams Busch is considering are Dale Earnhardt Inc., Richard Childress Racing, Evernham Motorsports and Penske Racing. Busch spent a good 15 minutes talking and joking with driver Martin Truex Jr. and members of Truex's No. 1 DEI Chevrolet team on pit road following qualifying Friday.

Asked point-blank if he would like to team up with his brother, Kurt, who drives Dodges for Penske Racing, the younger Busch replied: "It wouldn't bother me. I wouldn't mind driving for any of the teams out there. They all seem to be doing pretty well in their own respect at certain racetracks. For me, hopefully, I can bring a little bit more to the table where I can help out with their struggles at other places."

Busch also was asked if he would mind leaving Hendrick for his new employer before this season was out.

"I'm a driver. I just race racecars," he replied. "All this off-track stuff is just another distraction. I will stay with these guys as long as they want me to stay with them. Until they tell [team owner] Rick [Hendrick] or [general manager] Marshall [Carlson] or something like that, I don't think that's going to happen."

• Head2Head: Should Kyle Busch leave Hendrick Motorsports before the season ends? Read both sides of the argument and then weigh in with your take.