Winston Cup: Hendrick will attempt The Rock

DOVER, Del. -- Even while he celebrated his newest NASCAR Winston Cup driver, Jimmie Johnson's latest victory -- team owner Rick Hendrick said his son, Ricky Hendrick, would make his Winston Cup debut later this season.

	Ricky Hendrick Credit: Autostock

In an television interview, said he would fulfill a promise to his son, 22, to enter him in the Nov. 3 Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.

Hendrick's comment came after a question regarding his son's future, in light of former two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte having one more year, 2003, on his contract to drive Hendrick's No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet.

"He's got a lot of talent but he's real young," Hendrick said of his son. "Throwing him in there too soon can do him more harm than good."

Ricky Hendrick is competing in his first full season in the Busch Series this year. Through Saturday's MBNA All-American Heroes 200 at Dover, he is 26th in the standings, with four top-10 starts, including a best of seventh at Chicagoland Speedway and two top-10 finishes, including a best of seventh at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

He ran the full NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season in 2001 and finished sixth after scoring his first victory, at Kansas Speedway, along with eight top-five and 19 top-10 finishes in 24 starts.

Ricky Hendrick  2002 Stats  •  Driver Page  •  Merchandise

Hendrick missed six Busch races earlier this season after injuring his shoulder in a violent accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"I live in fear of him getting hurt," his father said Sunday.

Ironically, the younger Hendrick's 2000 season was interrupted after he suffered a concussion in a crash in the Busch Series Sam's Club 200 on Oct. 21 at Rockingham.

His final Truck Series race that season was canceled, but he did compete in the Busch Series finale at Homestead, Fla., where he was eliminated in an accident after 103 laps.