Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said the cutoff date for releasing Kurt Busch to leave for Penske Racing South is mid-October. He added that Roush Racing and Buschs sponsors are comfortable with leaving Busch in the #97 car next season. At the same time, were trying to keep our eyes open for whether or not there is a substitution deal that is palatable for the sponsors, either short term or long term, he said. Busch said the matter is in the hands of lawyers. Smith, who is a lawyer, said there are no apparent loopholes that would allow Busch to leave without a severe penalty. In this environment that were in, where there are tens of millions of dollars at play, the penalty is almost beyond calculation when it comes to the cost of running a race team and having to rebuild it from scratch, Smith said. I couldnt even total that. The only clean way to do it is just to release him from the contract. Smith said the situation is the same for Chip Ganassi driver Jamie McMurray, who was signed by Roush Racing to replace Mark Martin in 2007. Martin is prepared to stay in the #6 car next season. Its done between us and Mark that he is going to come back if the window doesnt open, Smith said. Theres a chance, but its only going to be open if Chip on his own and Jamie on his own separates.(The State)(9-12-2005)
