Kyle gets Labonte’s ride

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

Las Vegas native Kyle Busch will replace Terry Labonte in the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series in 2005, team owner Rick Hendrick announced this morning.

Busch, 19, was named to take over one of the most recognizable cars in NASCAR's premier series after Labonte announced he would run a limited schedule of 20 races in 2005 and 2006.

"It's unbelievable to put something into words this big," Busch said. "It's been a tremendous opportunity for me to be here at Hendrick Motorsports, racing in the NASCAR Busch Series. It's just all been a dream come true and it's something that I never thought could happen this quickly.

"Terry has been an inspiration to me and, of course, one of the all-time greats."

Labonte, 57, has won 22 races and two championships in NASCAR's premier series. He will run 10 races in each of the next two seasons.

Labonte earned his second Winston Cup championship in 1996 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on the same day his younger brother, Bobby, won the race.

"I remember watching that race on TV," said Kyle, who will join older brother Kurt as a full-time driver in the Nextel Cup series, "and just dreaming that one day it would be great to race there, but what if myself and my brother could have that same opportunity sometime."

Busch is in his rookie season in the NASCAR Busch Series with Hendrick Motorsports and battling for the series championship. With six races remaining, Busch trails Martin Truex Jr. by 149 points. Kurt Busch is leading the Nextel Cup Series standings with six races left.