Associated Press

Kyle Busch said he will be glad to talk to "whoever's got an open seat."

Citizens Bank 400

• Sunday 12:30 p.m.
• TNT

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- His ride gone for next season and then his agent, Kyle Busch faces more changes.

He'll search for a new ride and could be barred from some Hendrick Motorsports team meetings even as he tries to make the title chase.

Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. replaces him next year, Busch wouldn't mope about his situation Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

"I'm interested in talking to ... whoever's got an open seat," Busch said before qualifying third for Sunday's race. "Let's sit down. Let's have dinner."

Many owners are expected to answer, but not Jack Roush, for whom Busch drove before moving to Hendrick in 2003.

"I am not interested in Kyle Busch," Roush said.

"I've been there and I've done that."

One question is how much Busch's current teammates will want to associate with him this season.

Last year, Hendrick barred Brian Vickers from some meetings after he announced plans to leave for Team Red Bull.

Busch says he hopes that doesn't happen to him, but concedes, "it probably will."

Busch's crew chief, Alan Gustafson, admits it could be a delicate balance keeping some information from Busch while trying to help him make the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"We work very hard here at Hendrick Motorsports to get an advantage and those advantages are small," said Gustafson, who will remain with Hendrick next season.

"We don't want to give them away ... [but] we want this team to run well. We're going to do everything we can."

Jeff Gordon said Busch's actions will determine if he is ostracized as Vickers was.

"Brian had a computer that he had stuff loaded into," Gordon said. "I think you've got to be careful letting too much out.

"I think it's all about how Kyle wants to handle things. If he continues to handle himself the way he is today, then we're going to do our best to continue to give him opportunities to win races and a championship and try to get the same information that we've been getting out of him to help ourselves as well.

"There may be a point somewhere further down the road where we do have to, at certain times, pull him aside in some of our meetings. That's a standard deal."

Busch's search for a new home also is expected to be similar to the standard approach. He's open to everyone, saying, "I'm not married to Chevrolet."

That Busch finds himself in this though, surprises him.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams I would leave Hendrick Motorsports ... but neither did Kurt Busch when he joined Roush Racing," Busch said of his older brother, who switched before last year. "I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish somewhere else."

He'll do it with new representation, after a breakdown in talks about a contract extension led to what Hendrick and Busch said was a mutual agreement to split.

Although Busch said he didn't change agents because the contract talks broke down, Busch said he was not as informed about the talks as he would have liked.

Busch is now represented by a group that also handles contracts for Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and others.