Control Issues

That relationship started to deteriorate in May '06. After being knocked out of the race in Charlotte by a collision with Casey Mears , Busch walked to the edge of the track and hurled his HANS device at Mears 's passing car. Then, after winning at Bristol last March, Busch blasted NASCAR , telling the press that the Car of Tomorrow "sucked" because of its poor handling—a statement that some of his crew members viewed as a dig at their work. Said Alan Gustafson , who was Busch 's crew chief at Hendrick , "It just never was as easy as it should have been with Kyle."

For his part, Busch never felt comfortable at Hendrick Motorsports , the most buttoned-down organization in NASCAR . Rick Hendrick asks his drivers to dress well—in collared shirts and slacks—when not in their firesuits, and to never embarrass their team or their sponsors. This mandate can leave the impression that Hendrick men are corporate mouthpieces, afraid to speak their minds; for the imperious and hot-blooded Busch , it was a rule he could not follow.

"I know I can be a p---- sometimes, but you know what? I'm just a true racer who loves nothing more than to get in the car and get after it," says Busch , who finished fifth in points last season. "I did all I could inside that race car when I was at Hendrick , but it still wasn't enough. My feelings weren't hurt [when I was let go], but it's tough to lose your job when you're contending for championships like I was.... I guess I was the odd man out there. I don't know of one time that Jeff or Jimmie ever called me and asked me to do anything away from the track. I just never fit in with those guys."

Johnson has acknowledged that he and Busch spent little time together away from the track. But Busch was always included in trackside debriefings and meetings. "He's created problems that just weren't there," Johnson says. "He thought people [at Hendrick ] were out to get him when they weren't. But I'm happy for him now because he's doing great at Gibbs ."

INDEED, BUSCH has found two things at JGR that he never had at Hendrick : a mentor, in Stewart , and a good friend, in Denny Hamlin , the third JGR driver. The 36-year-old Stewart , who endured his share of rough times early in his Cup career, has been an unlikely counselor to Busch , advising him on everything from racing lines at various tracks to handling the media's and fans' demands. Busch and the 27-year-old Hamlin are single, and they frequently sneak away from the track together on Friday nights, "terrorizing different towns."

"Kyle fits in so much better with Tony and Denny because they're just pure racers," says Kurt Busch . "Kyle's comfort level with them is one reason why he's been so successful so quickly this season."

The cultural difference between Hendrick and JGR—a team that has a history of tolerating wayward behavior by its drivers—also suits Busch 's youthful exuberance. "We want our drivers to go fast, that's it," says J.D. Gibbs , the president of JGR . "Kyle is only 22, and he's looking to us for guidance. We've had experience in this with Tony, so we feel like we know how to groom him. We're looking long-term with Kyle."

Hendrick , once a father figure to Busch , understands all this, and there's a touch of melancholy in his voice when he ponders what might have been. "Maybe I tried to make Kyle into something he wasn't, and that's my fault," says Hendrick . "I do know this: I'm not looking forward to racing against him every week."