Hall of Fame Racing

Former NASCAR team

Hall of Fame RacingOwner(s)| Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Bill Saunders (2006–2007)
Jeff Moorad, Tom Garfinkel, Tom Davin (2008–2009)

|

Base| Concord, North Carolina
Series| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race drivers| Terry Labonte (2006)
Tony Raines (2006–2007) Ron Fellows (2007)
J. J. Yeley (2008)
P. J. Jones (2008)
Brad Coleman (2008)
Ken Schrader (2008)
Joey Logano (2008)
Bobby Labonte (2009)
Erik Darnell (2009)
Manufacturer| Chevy (2006–2007)
Toyota (2008)
Ford (2009)
Opened| 2005
Closed| 2010
Career
Drivers' Championships| 0
Race victories| 0

Hall of Fame Racing was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing team principally owned by former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and veteran Trans Am driver Bill Saunders. The team was founded in 2006 and sponsored by Texas Instruments DLP division. In 2007 with drivers Tony Raines and Ron Fellows (for the road courses) behind the wheel of the No. 96 DLP Chevrolet, the team would finish 25th in owners points. The team was sold to Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkle after the 2007 season and eventually closed after the 2009 season.

## History

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### Car No. 96 history

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Tony Raines in the No. 96 at California Speedway in 2006

Terry Labonte and Tony Raines (2006)

Hall of Fame Racing was first rumored in 2003, but it took three years to start competing. The team announced at Texas Motor Speedway on November 3, 2005, that for the 2006 season, the team would be operating only one car, the No. 96 sponsored by Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing technology. As a new team with nothing to fall back on, Terry Labonte took advantage of the Past Champion's Provisional and drove the car for the first five races, placing it inside the top 35 in the point standings, and guaranteeing a starting spot in upcoming races. Labonte also drove the car at the two road courses, with Tony Raines racing at the others. Raines and the team had a solid night during the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, taking the lead for 28 laps and finishing in 7th place.[1] The team's highest finish in 2006 was third at Infineon Raceway with Labonte at the wheel, and finished 26th in owners points.

Tony Raines (2007)

Raines was to compete in 2007 on a full-time basis, however those plans changed after the year began, when it was announced that road course driver Ron Fellows would take the wheel at the road courses at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen. Fellows went on to finish 15th at Infineon and 4th at the Glen, and Raines' best finish was 9th at the UAW-Ford 500. Raines was able to earn the team 25th in the final owners' points standings, however, the highest finish for any single car team in the Sprint Cup Series since 2005 with the Wood Brothers and Ricky Rudd, and also improving upon HOF's 26th-place finish the year before. Raines ended 2007 with 18 top 25 finishes.

J. J. Yeley (2008)

For 2008, the team decided to hire J. J. Yeley from Joe Gibbs Racing. The contract was to last throughout 2010, and it was announced that they would be switching to Toyota. With Yeley at the wheel, the team quickly fell out of the top 35 in points and, by the end of the year, failed to qualify for five races. In August 2008, Hall of Fame Racing released Yeley, replacing him with Brad Coleman for one race, and later Ken Schrader and Joey Logano. P. J. Jones also ran a one-off race for HOF Racing at Watkins Glen, finishing 37th. The team's highest finish in 2008 was 3rd at New Hampshire with Yeley in a rained shorted race, but finished better than 25th only 5 times out of 36 attempts, and ended the year 39th in the Nextel Cup Series owners standings (out of 43 full-time teams). It was also announced in September 2008 that Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Bill Saunders and Mark Griege were no longer part of the ownership group, leaving only Moorad, Garfunkel, and Whitman as the owners.[2]

Brad Coleman had signed a development contract with Hall of Fame and was expected to drive the car in 2009, but he was reported to be released at the end of the year and replaced by Bobby Labonte after running only one race for the team in 2008.

Bobby Labonte (2009)

On January 13, 2009, Hall of Fame Racing announced an alignment with Yates Racing. Technically, Hall of Fame Racing closed its doors, laying off all of its employees, and brought over sponsorship to the former No. 38 car, changing the number to No. 96. Bobby Labonte was to be the full-time driver with sponsorship from search engine Ask.com, who provided primary sponsorship for 18 races, Academy Sports and Outdoors for 5 races, and Texas Instruments/DLP for 8 races. However, in August due to sponsorship problems, Labonte was replaced by Roush Fenway Racing Nationwide Series driver Erik Darnell, for 7 of the last 12 races. Darnell came over with sponsorship from Northern Tool and Equipment and Labonte replaced David Gilliland in the 71 TRG Motorsports car. The team ended the season 31st in owners points, with only 1 top-5 finish.

Following the 2009 season, Yates Racing merged with Richard Petty Motorsports and Front Row Motorsports, and the No. 96 team was shut down. The car owner points were transferred to Front Row for the 2010 season.

#### Car No. 96 results

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results

Year  | Team  | No.  | Make  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | 17  | 18  | 19  | 20  | 21  | 22  | 23  | 24  | 25  | 26  | 27  | 28  | 29  | 30  | 31  | 32  | 33  | 34  | 35  | 36  | NSCC | Pts
2006 | Terry Labonte | 96  | Chevy | DAY
17 | CAL
34 | LVS
24 | ATL
22 | BRI
27 |  | SON
3 |  | GLN
37 |  | 26th  | 3259
Tony Raines |  | MAR
21 | TEX
24 | PHO
17 | TAL
17 | RCH
30 | DAR
20 | CLT
40 | DOV
26 | POC
16 | MCH
38 |  | DAY
21 | CHI
40 | NHA
22 | POC
21 | IND
11 |  | MCH
32 | BRI
25 | CAL
37 | RCH
39 | NHA
26 | DOV
23 | KAN
28 | TAL
20 | CLT
7 | MAR
14 | ATL
34 | TEX
19 | PHO
21 | HOM

2007 | DAY
33 | CAL
23 | LVS
19 | ATL
38 | BRI
24 | MAR
20 | TEX
13 | PHO
14 | TAL
22 | RCH
22 | DAR
39 | CLT
14 | DOV
21 | POC
36 | MCH
39 |  | NHA
20 | DAY
39 | CHI
24 | IND
41 | POC
15 |  | MCH
34 | BRI
28 | CAL
27 | RCH
35 | NHA
21 | DOV
36 | KAN
18 | TAL
9 | CLT
31 | MAR
14 | ATL
23 | TEX
20 | PHO
37 | HOM
29 | 25th  | 3203
Ron Fellows |  | SON
15 |  | GLN
4 |
2008 | J. J. Yeley | Toyota | DAY
25 | CAL
29 | LVS
27 | ATL
37 | BRI
25 | MAR
27 | TEX
42 | PHO
39 | TAL
DNQ | RCH
34 | DAR
26 | CLT
38 | DOV
24 | POC
DNQ | MCH
41 | SON
DNQ | NHA
3 | DAY
DNQ | CHI
24 | IND
28 | POC
39 |  | 39th  | 2368
P. J. Jones |  | GLN
37 |
Brad Coleman |  | MCH
38 |
Ken Schrader |  | BRI
21 | CAL
41 | RCH
27 |  | DOV
33 |  | TAL
16 | CLT
38 | MAR
28 | ATL
35 | TEX
30 | PHO
27 | HOM
DNQ
Joey Logano |  | NHA
32 |  | KAN
39 |
2009 | Bobby Labonte | Ford | DAY
22 | CAL
20 | LVS
5 | ATL
40 | BRI
22 | MAR
16 | TEX
40 | PHO
29 | TAL
28 | RCH
31 | DAR
18 | CLT
12 | DOV
28 | POC
28 | MCH
28 | SON
20 | NHA
21 | DAY
21 | CHI
21 | IND
23 | POC
36 | GLN
20 | MCH
43 | BRI
36 |  | RCH
31 |  | DOV
23 |  | CAL
26 | CLT
31 | MAR
13 |  | 31st  | 3035
Erik Darnell |  | ATL
30 |  | NHA
30 |  | KAN
29 |  | TAL
37 | TEX
30 | PHO
31 | HOM

## References

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1. ^ Pockrass, Bob (January 31, 2014). "NFL and NASCAR: Former NFL stars who dabbled in stock-car racing". Sporting News. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
2. ^ "Jayski's 96 Team page". Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-08-30.

## External links

[edit]

* Can Staubach and Aikman find Cup success in 2006?

* v
* t
* e

Hall of Fame Racing

Years active|

2005–2010

Personnel|

* Jeff Moorad
* Tom Garfinkel
* Tom Davin
* Roger Staubach
* Troy Aikman
* Bill Saunders

Former drivers|

* Brad Coleman
* Erik Darnell
* Ron Fellows
* P. J. Jones
* Bobby Labonte
* Terry Labonte
* Joey Logano
* Tony Raines
* Ken Schrader
* J. J. Yeley

NASCAR Hall of Fame|

* Bobby Labonte
* Terry Labonte

Buyouts and mergers|

* Front Row Motorsports
* Richard Petty Motorsports
* Yates Racing

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