Tough to go solo in NASCAR
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- It’s homecoming weekend for Hall of Fame Racing, a NASCAR team hoping to buck the odds and become competitive despite fielding only one car in the premier Sprint Cup Series.
The series’ eighth race of the season is Saturday night at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway here, and Hall of Fame’s driver is Phoenix native J.J. Yeley. That team is co-owned by former sports agent Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel, who also are top executives of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Yeley’s No. 96 Toyota Camry this weekend will carry a logo celebrating the Diamondbacks’ 10th anniversary. Qualifying to set the 43-car field for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 is scheduled today.
Jeff Gordon won this race last year from the pole for Hendrick Motorsports.
Multi-car teams such as Hendrick rule NASCAR, and Yeley and Hall of Fame Racing are struggling this year. But Moorad and Garfinkel are convinced that they too can eventually reach Victory Lane.
“Conventional wisdom would suggest that a one-car team can’t be successful,” said Moorad, who, with partner Leigh Steinberg, negotiated contracts for such athletes as Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez and former NFL quarterback Steve Young.
“The reality is we believe that with the right strategy and plan in place, we have every chance to be successful.”
The key is building strong sponsor ties, spending efficiently, assembling the right crew members and being patient, Moorad and Garfinkel said.
And they pointed to their record in Major League Baseball as an example of what can be done in NASCAR.
“In 2004 [the Diamondbacks] lost 111 games, but in 2007 they had the most wins in the National League [90] with the fifth-lowest payroll in baseball,” Garfinkel said. “There’s a similar opportunity [in NASCAR].”
But they acknowledged that the Diamondbacks’ turnaround didn’t happen overnight, just as it won’t at Hall of Fame Racing.
“We believe we can win a race,” said Garfinkel, who grew up in Walnut Creek, Calif., and spent five years with Chip Ganassi’s racing teams before joining with Moorad. “With that said, we understand how difficult that’s going to be and how competitive this sport is. We’ve got a long way to go.”
That’s evident by Yeley’s year so far.
After seven races, he is yet to start or finish a race in the top 20. He also has dropped to 33rd in owner points, only two spots inside the coveted top 35 that are assured starting spots in the next race. If he fell to 36th or lower, Yeley would risk missing the race if he wasn’t fast enough in qualifying.
Matters didn’t improve Sunday, when Yeley spun and crashed midway through the race at Texas Motor Speedway, slamming into the inside retaining wall. Yeley wasn’t hurt but finished next to last in 42nd.
He’s looking for redemption in Arizona.
“You always want to run well in front of family and friends and, obviously, with Tom and Jeff living out there, it’s an important race and we want to put on a good show for everyone,” he said.
Yeley, 31, took over this season for Tony Raines, who mostly drove the car in the first two years of Hall of Fame’s existence. The team finished 26th in owner points in 2006 and 25th last year.
The team was started by a group led by two NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman -- a former client of Moorad’s. They sold control to Moorad and Garfinkel last August.
“We approached them” about buying the team, Moorad said, after he and Garfinkel met with NASCAR Chairman Brian France and President Mike Helton a year ago about what teams might be available. “We felt that the opportunity at Hall of Fame Racing was the most intriguing of all, given the fact that a great foundation had been built by Roger and Troy.”
Hall of Fame Racing probably would draw more sponsors if Yeley started running up front with the series’ leading drivers.
But even as the team struggles, its primary sponsor, Texas Instruments’ DLP brand, recently extended its backing through next year.
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SUBWAY FRESH FIT 500
Where: Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
Qualifying: Today, 4 p.m., Speed.
Race: Saturday, Ch. 11, 5 p.m.
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