Kyle Busch unfazed by free-agent status

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LOUDON, N.H. – Nextel Cup star driver Kyle Busch will travel to All-Star Speedway in Epping, N.H., tonight for a 200-lap Pro All Stars Series North Super Late Model race.

He has run the last two TD Banknorth Oxford 250s but will pass on it this year.

“I like late models. They’re probably the most fun vehicle to drive that I race in. I enjoy doing that kind of stuff,” said Busch, who will race his own Super Late Model car in his native Las Vegas on Tuesday night.

Busch said the reason he won’t race at Oxford is “they went to the ACT [American-Canadian Tour] rules, so that’s not fun for me. ACT rules is like Cup racing. It’s too restrictive.

“I like to go somewhere where it takes some people, some smart people, to get a car to go around the racetrack. Building shocks and doing springs and different stuff definitely makes you think a little more.”

Busch is a free agent after this season as Hendrick Motorsports has announced that he will be the odd man out when Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins the team next year.

Busch is currently 10th in points in the Nextel Cup series and said he isn’t concerned about landing a ride next year.

“I’m not worried whatsoever,” said Busch. “I’m just looking forward to tying something down and get all squared away. Hopefully, we’ll be able to figure something out [in the near future].”

He said he enjoyed his two appearances in the TD Banknorth Oxford 250.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I like going up there and seeing those guys. I’ve got a couple friends up there who are coming here this weekend. It’ll be good to see them again.”

Busy weekend

Carl Edwards has been having a memorable weekend.

“The partnership with Fenway Group has been a lot of fun but this is the most exciting weekend so far. I get to race the Red Sox [Ford] Fusion in the race on Sunday and I get to go out to Fenway Park [Friday night] and watch the game,” he said.

Edwards showed off his Fusion with baseball stripes on it at Fenway Park on Thursday and he said Fenway Park left a lasting impression.

“Fenway’s awesome, man … the history there,” said Edwards. “I got to walk down behind the dugout where they have the training rooms and where they take batting practice. It was cool.”

Edwards, team owner Jack Roush and NHIS owner Bob Bahre each threw out a ceremonial pitch before the Red Sox hosted the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

Earlier in the day, Edwards qualified 22nd for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 300.

Montoya off the hot seat

Juan Pablo Montoya, the former Formula One driver and Indy 500 winner, said he was more relaxed this weekend after posting his first Nextel Cup win last Sunday on the road course in Sonoma, Calif.

“It’s a lot more relaxing coming here knowing that you’ve already won a race,” he said. “That was the big question of everybody: if I could do it. And I did it. For my own sake, we’re just starting [what we want to achieve]. This is showing where the whole organization is going. Look at how we’ve been running this week compared to the last few weeks. It really shows we’re going in the right direction.”

Montoya qualified fifth for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300.

He said he is a “lot more comfortable” in the Nextel series than he was at the beginning of the season.

“And this short track seems to be pretty good. I seem to be able to perform in the big ones,” said Montoya.

He said he is confident he can contend for wins as long as the car is running well.

“If the car is good, we can run well anywhere,” said Montoya. “It’s nice to see the Ganassi cars up there. That’s huge.”

The Chip Ganassi race team also qualified Reed Sorenson third and David Stremme 24th.

He said every week is a “new experience” and it’s “pretty exciting.”

Will his success spur other F1, IRL or Champ car series drivers to give Nextel Cup a try?

“To be honest, I don’t know and I don’t care,” said the Colombian driver. “I care about myself, my team, and the people I work with. That’s about it.”

He said he didn’t receive any phone calls from former open-cockpit rivals to congratulate him on his win.

He does feel he may be opening the door for Hispanic drivers.

“For the whole Latin community, it’s a big deal,” he said. “It had been an All-American sport and me being here shows it doesn’t really matter where you’re from, you can still do it. The fans appreciate it. It’s nice to see.”

Montoya won his first Busch race in Mexico City.

“It was huge there. It was same back home last week with my win,” said Montoya. “They were really happy.”

What has been the biggest adjustment for him?

“Everything. Formula One would probably go wide open all the way around here like IRL would do. You’ve got to slow down. They take a long time to slow down. They move around a lot,” said Montoya. “It’s hard and it’s hard to find out how far you can really go because every time you go too far, 90 percent of the time you put it in the wall.”

“So you’ve got to do it little by little and it just takes time,” added Montoya.

Has it been enjoyable?

“Oh yeah. I’m loving it,” said Montoya.

Stewart quiet

The normally outspoken Tony Stewart held his tongue when asked what he would do to improve the Nextel Cup series.

“I’m just a driver. You’re asking the wrong guy,” said Stewart. “You’re asking us to do something we’re not qualified to do and that’s figure out how to take a multibillion dollar racing series and try to improve on it. That’s why they have high executives that do that job. They know better than the drivers do on what to do to make it better.”

Lepage looks forward to 250

Nextel Cup driver Kevin Lepage will be returning home to run the 34th TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 22.

The Shelburne, Vt., native raced in the Northeast for years in what is now known as the NASCAR Busch East Series before moving south.

“The first thing is going home and having fun,” said Lepage after qualifying 43rd for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 300. “I’m just looking forward to going up there and having a lot of fun. And win.”

Lepage was also looking forward to racing old foes.

“We’re going to race with some guys that I’ve raced with before,” added Lepage. “[Three-time 250 winner] Mike Rowe was here a little while ago and we talked a little bit about it.”

This year’s 250 will be Lepage’s fifth. He last ran the race in 1993 and finished 13th.