Now, we’ve got a new free agency bonanza ahead: Who will Bud land with?

There have been rumblings that they’d make a run at Kasey Kahne. Though he’s had a miserable year — something true across the Dodge stable — he remains one of the series’ most marketable stars. He’s a good-looking guy who minds his manners, and oh by the way, he can drive a bit too.

But is Kahne a good fit for Bud? Earnhardt seemed to be the perfect guy to pitch Bud: A guy you’d like to sit down and have a beer with if you could (and if you were of age), a guy who’s shown all the trappings of one of us — imbibing a bit too much from time to time, dropping the s-bomb.

Does Kahne do that? I’m not certain. He’s a nice enough guy, certainly, but he also seems considerably more polished than Earnhardt.

And let’s be honest: Earnhardt and Kahne appeal to two very different demographics. My cousin has twin 15-year old daughters; one of them adores Kahne though, to the best of my knowledge, has no particular allegiance to Earnhardt. That’s what made Kahne’s Allstate ads work so well: They tweaked that very fact.

I’m running through Jayski’s Cup team chart, and there doesn’t seem to be too many drivers that could fill the same niche as Earnhardt. Two pop to mind: Kurt Busch, but there’s no way rival Miller Lite would Bud take over its ride.

The second would be Carl Edwards. The team chart doesn’t say how long Office Depot is signed through, but Edwards would be a strong choice for any company. But few have the money to make a run at him like Bud would.

Think about Junior’s ad with the crazy desert dudes. It’s hard to imagine Kahne stepping out of the car and delivering a funny one-liner with any sort of credibility. It doesn’t seem to be who he is.
Edwards could deliver that line, and it would still be funny. It’s easy to get the impression that Edwards doesn’t take himself too seriously.

Of course, Bud’s marketing department is probably the size of a small army. If they want to change campaigns, they can probably do so with little difficulty. But if they want to keep the same style as they had with Junior, they at least owe a call to Jack Roush or Geoff Smith.

(Photo by Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)

“...Walking down pit road saying congratulations to Jeff Gordon, I got blown off so I guess I’m the outsider looking in now,” Busch ranted on Saturday night. “And I’m probably not going to be invited into the team meetings next week so I think the bliss is over at Hendrick Motorsports for Kyle Busch. We’ll get ready for 2008.”

But on Wednesday’s teleconference, Gordon said he was in the middle of an interview and turned to give Busch a thumb’s up — no blow-off here.

Busch also fumed that he didn’t get much help from his teammates, and Gordon contested that as well. Gordon said his car was a work in progress for much of the night, and it didn’t work particularly well in the lower groove, where Busch found himself.

“It’s only in our best interest to work together” on the track and off, Gordon said. “So I’ve got to guess that he was talking in the heat of the moment.”

Nah, not Kyle Busch. (Even he might say just that, third-person references included.)

It seems like Busch has a bit of Tonystewartism: No matter what anyone does, it’s always to the detriment of the younger Busch. It can never be circumstantial, it’s always conspiratorial.

Wherever he winds up, whether it’s Gibbs or Childress, someone’s going to have a handful. Hendrick may well have a handful for the rest of the season, though he’s more used to it.

Gordon was asked if the situation has a chance to deteriorate over the remainder of the season, and his answer was essentially that it’s up to Busch to decide that.

And he’s right. Busch has been lambasted here for transgressions, and it seems like we’re still waiting to see a genuine moment of humility. So we’re not hopeful.

Not that some suburban sportswriter could possibly understand the complexities of a person — something I’ll readily admit. But we’ve seen enough to know one thing: Kyle Busch thinks very highly of Kyle Busch.

• IT’S BEEN PRETTY REFRESHING to see some different faces in victory lane: Jamie McMurray in Daytona and Carl Edwards in Michigan both broke long winless streaks; Martin Truex Jr. got his first win at Dover; Casey Mears did likewise at Lowe’s.

And it’s not even just the fact that the Hendrick monopoly has been broken. It’s that some of the forgotten drivers — McMurray in much bigger shadows at Roush, Truex behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. at DEI — are breaking through.

So who’s next?

Clint Bowyer seems to be a no-brainer. Running a solid but quiet season for Childress, he has 10 top-10’s and tied a career-best with a fourth at Sonoma. A darkhorse might be Dave Blaney; many drivers have said he’s a top-notch talent, though he’s been victimized by Toyota’s struggles in their rookie Cup season.

Hey, the stars aligned for David Gilliland in the Busch series last year. He, incidentally, is not a breakthrough candidate.

• EASY FELLAS: How about that “fight” after the IRL race?

Tony Kanaan and Sam Hornish Jr. were upset with each other and had heated words on pit road after the race at Watkins Glen. The recap via Speed is on YouTube.

First off, Sam Hornish Sr. needs to be suspended from the track. He’s the one that pushed Kanaan; Hornish Sr. was eventually knocked down by someone affiliated with Andretti Green Racing (who also needs to have his credential suspended).

The worst part, however, was watching the IRL official, who did nothing. The guy from ESPN did as much to stop the shouting as the IRL official did; that’s unacceptable.

I’m as disappointed in MLB umpires and their steadfast refusal to break up a fight in progress. We see stronger officiating in the NFL and NBA.

Granted, there were a lot of people and one official. But the situation may have been diffused far more quickly had the IRL official done his job and stepped in to, well, officiate. He’s not the only one culpable, however; where were his colleagues?

The many fights in NASCAR over the years shows us it can be done. Notice how, at the first sign of trouble, a battalion of officials step in and make their presence known — something this IRL official and many of his colleagues failed to do.

• AND, JUST WHEN I’M BACK, I’m off again. We’ve got some work to do on Saturday — putting the section together, or something minor like that — so we’re taking tomorrow off. We’ll be back Friday with a look ahead to Chicagoland or whatever news the day brings.

(Photo by Mark Avery/Associated Press)