Earnhardt Jr. displaces Busch at Hendrick

Kyle Busch

Following Wednesday's press conference on the acquisition of DEI driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports yesterday confirmed reports that it was Kyle Busch who will have to leave the team. Handing over the rein of his No. 5 Chevrolet to Junior, the 22-year-old Busch was said to be on his way to replacing Earnhardt not only in the free agent market but to the DEI.

DEI officials were earlier quoted as saying that they wanted to make a stir with Junior's replacement. Their ideal driver would be a championship contender with a long career ahead of him. And the 10^th ranked Busch fits the bill.

Team owner Rick Hendrick, meanwhile, dispelled reports that the team fired Busch to make room for Junior. �He's a young guy, and everyone tells you how great you are and says you're not going to be the top dog there, you'll be the top dog here, we'll pay you whatever it's going to take,� Hendrick said. �What would you do? How would you respond to that?�