Keeping Kurt Busch still the plan - Haas

Gene Haas remains optimistic that Kurt Busch will be back with Stewart-Haas Racing next year but said the details still need to be ironed out.

Saturday, Haas attended the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, overseeing the car of Cole Custer, which he co-owns and sponsors. When asked where things stand between Stewart-Haas and Busch – whose option for next season was not picked up by the team – Haas stated it's a just matter of sponsorship.

"We're really just kind of waiting for the sponsor to give us an indication of the direction they're going to go in," said Haas (pictured above, with Busch). "Once we have a better grip on the money and the direction we're going into and who the sponsor's going to be, then we can finalize something with Kurt.

"We expect Kurt to be back next year. But I'm sure he's pretty panicky going, 'Oh my God, what's going on?' It seems like these things take longer and longer every year, but we're optimistic."

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The No. 41 Ford currently has primary sponsorship from Monster Energy and Haas Automation. Busch and Monster have been paired together for a few seasons now with Busch also being signed as a "Monster Athlete." The company stepped up as a primary sponsor for Busch in late 2015.

On the other hand, Haas Automation is owned by Gene Haas. He foots the bill for whichever races his brand is listed as the primary sponsor.

"Kurt brought Monster in a couple years ago and that was great, because basically it kept him in the car for a longer period of time," said Haas. "We had different plans when we started out and things kind of went up and down, and we really wanted to win a lot of races and compete for the championship, and we just haven't done that well.

"That's a disappointment from the Haas Automation standpoint, but still he's a top-five driver, and maybe if the planets all align we can get back into that race in Miami. That's where we want to get."

Busch has five wins with Stewart-Haas Racing, including this year's Daytona 500. Speaking to reporters last weekend, Busch said he wasn't worried about his future and there is plenty of time for options to unfold.