Hendrick, Labonte to talk about driver's future

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Rick Hendrick said early Sunday morning that Terry Labonte's status with Hendrick Motorsports for next year and beyond will be decided in the next few weeks.

	Rick Hendrick

Labonte's future came into question this weekend at Daytona International Speedway after a story in The Charlotte Observer reported that his tenure with Hendrick is uncertain.

Labonte, who turns 48 in November, has been with Hendrick Motorsports since 1994. He is the oldest of four Nextel Cup drivers, and more than twice the age of his apparent heir apparent, Kyle Busch.

"We said before the season started that Terry and the sponsor and all of us would sit down after Daytona," Hendrick said after Jeff Gordon won the Pepsi 400. "We were planning on talking in the next week or two."

Labonte, a two-time Cup champion, said Friday that he hoped to make a decision on his future later in 2004.

"I was going to decide a little bit later in the year and tell everybody what I decided," Labonte said. "I kind of got blindsided (Thursday) by this. ... I wasn't really prepared to lay everything out because I have no idea."

He did say he still was going to decide later in the year.

	Terry Labonte

"Rick and I had a discussion last year, and I told him this was most likely going to be my last year," Labonte said. "That's kind of where we left it."

Hendrick's long-range plans clearly don't include Labonte, as even Labonte admitted. Labonte has been driving full-time since 1979 and is in the twilight of his career.

Two years ago, Hendrick paired rookie Jimmie Johnson with Gordon in a new building at the team's complex near Lowe's Motor Speedway. The team is building a new shop to house the 5 and 25 teams in a similar setup. Rookie Brian Vickers drives the No. 25 car, but Labonte won't be in the 5 long-term.

"There's a lot that goes into it, more than you think," Labonte said. "There are sponsors involved and all kinds of things. I want to do what's right for him and his team and not do anything to mess them up.

"But you know, I don't know. I might wake up tomorrow and say, 'Yeah, the end of the year is going to be it.' I might wake up tomorrow and say -- like a couple weeks ago after the race at Pocono -- 'That was the most fun I had since I don't know when and I don't really feel like retiring.'"

Hendrick said Labonte and the team have "a lot of options" but wouldn't elaborate.

"We've got to get the sponsor involved in the decision process, too," Hendrick said. "We haven't made any decision. We were hoping we were going to stay out of Silly Season and do it on our timetable.

"I think in the next couple of weeks we'll make that decision and make an announcement."

What exactly will happen with Labonte's future is unknown, even to Labonte.

"I have no idea," Labonte said. "I don't know."