The Crowd around the Hall of Fame Racing garage wasn't for team NASCAR Tony Raines, but for former Cowboys Quarterback Troy Aikman. He along another former Cowboys Quarterback Roger Staubach saw their NASCAR Racing team make their Texas Debut on Sunday.
“Its kind of reliving your old athletic life, in a different way though,” says Staubach. “I still have my ankles taped but I'm not playing today, but this is still a big deal as far as rooting for our team.”
“You know, I've said throughout the year, if we can be in the top twenty-five by the end of the year, then it would be a successful year for us,” says Aikman. “I'm going to stick with that until the end of the year.”
Next to driving the car, the biggest job for Raines is posing for pictures with his famous owners. There is always a crowd around the car, sponsored by Dallas based Texas Instruments. They’re promoting their new DLP technology for High Definition Televiion.
Ironicaly, on Sunday, Raines was also trying to keep up with the leader board of The Masters, since the race and the final round of The Masters was being played out at the same time.
“That would be nice,” says Raines talking to members of his team. “Will you post me once in a while?”
Fox announcers recognized Hall of Fame Racing at the start of the Samsung Radio Shack 500. “Tony Raines is their driver, 55-starts, and he has never won one of these events, and he starts deep in the field.”
Raines was driving in only his second race this season, after replacing Terry Labonte who drove the first five for Hall of Fame Racing. As a former Champion, Labonte is allowed certain exceptions. Now, its time for Raines to drive the car for the rest of the season.
“I think they've got the makings of a good team there,” says Labonte. “It’s just so hard, the fans just don't understand how difficult it is to have a new team. The whole deal is kind of geared against you.”
During Sunday's race, Raines got boxed in during his first pit stop, "Tony Raines can't get out of his pits because Casey Mears is right there,” explained the announcers from the Fox Telecast.
Later, Raines finished 24th without incident, two laps behind the winner.
“As we come back to tracks a second time, I think you'll see this car perform better,” says Raines. “That’s usually the sign of new team, building that notebook.”
Hall of Facing did finish in the top 25, but they're still not challenging for any wins. It’s a competitive sport and apparently, it will take Hall of Fame Racing some time to notch their first win.
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