Labonte, who left Petty Enterprises in December, moves to the team to drive the No. 96 car that, thanks to that new Yates/HoF alliance, will be a Ford. Surprisingly enough, Labonte's move also helped bring a new sponsor into the sport despite many teams struggling to even keep funding from the ones they currently hold.
Ask.com will serve as Labonte's primary sponsor on the No. 96 in addition to taking a role as the "official seach engine of NASCAR" -- something that sounds like it's going to benefit fans.
Brad Coleman's entry and exit to and from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Hall of Fame Racing came to an abrupt halt after just one race, ESPN says.
[Brad] Coleman's fortunes changed quickly [...] According to Hall of Fame Racing, Coleman is now a free agent. He is no longer under contract to Hall of Fame.
Coleman's lone Sprint Cup race came at Michigan International Speedway in August when the 20-year-old driver replaced a fired J.J. Yeley in the No. 96 DLP Toyota. In that event, he started 37th and finished 43rd.
For giggles, I think I'll cite my previous post on Coleman's quick turn up to NASCAR's top division:
Hall of Fame sure isn't a place where a driver is going to go win championships, and knowing that Coleman just might be making a career mistake of jumping in a car that races in the Sprint Cup Series but doesn't compete.
Now I get that "just might be making a career mistake" isn't a "Coleman will be cut after one race"-type prediction, but come on, the writing was on the wall for this kid and his move to a team I wouldn't even drive for if offered the chance.
Yeah, Hall of Shame Fame Racing is just that bad, but this certainly leaves plenty of questions as to why it took so long for word to come out about Coleman.
At least he got to meet Jack Bauer before he lost his ride.
J.J. Yeley's fall from one of the top teams in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series took another tumble Wednesday afternoon as he was dropped from his ride in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota.
Yeley, who has put together an unremarkable season of one whole Top-5 (it came in the same race that Kurt Busch won thanks to rain at New Hampshire) after getting bounced from Joe Gibbs Racing in 2007 will be replaced with Brad Coleman, the team announced today:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Aug. 6, 2008) – Hall of Fame Racing officials announced Wednesday that NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brad Coleman, who has been under contract as a test driver for Hall of Fame Racing since November 2007, will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut by piloting the No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry in the Aug. 17 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
Coleman, 20, is currently running a full-time season in the Nationwide Series and has put together equally unimpressive results with a single Top-10 at Las Vegas in 2008. He drove for Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series program in a limited role in 2007.
I guess you could say Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway for J.J. Yeley (yay yay yay-lee!) was pretty normal.
The No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing team started officially in 40th and finished 24th, but the setbacks along the way incurred from NASCAR make that finish seem a little more impressive.
You see, J.J. Yeley is a fan of cold water. He likes to drink it, especially when sitting inside a hot race car for 400 miles. He's not so much a fan of warm water, though, like the water inside his race car after sitting through inspection in the July sun in the midwest. And so, his team replaced his warm water bag with a cold water bag -- like they've done for nearly every race this season -- just prior to the race.
NASCAR wasn't a fan of the move, though. Because Yeley's car had already gone through inspection and because there wasn't an official present to see the H2O transaction, they got suspicious. Really suspicious.
They took the No. 96 off of pit road, put it back through inspection, and in doing so, didn't really find anything different. It made him late joining the field, and as soon as the green flag dropped, NASCAR called the No. 96 in for a pass through penalty for "Disobeying a NASCAR Request". The move dropped him behind the field and one lap down.
That's a steep penalty for a dude that just simply wants some high quality H2O in his ride -- or at least some water that isn't going to boil his insides.
Ousted Joe Gibbs Racing driver J.J. Yeley has signed a three-year deal with Hall of Fame Racing to replace Tony Raines in the # 96 Cup car sponsored by DLP beginning in 2008:
"I've never had to make a decision this difficult in my life, but I'm confident that Hall of Fame Racing will be competitive week-in and week out and build the future team around me as their driver. The affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the great people in Phoenix was just an added bonus that makes it the perfect fit for me."
Good deal for him. He gets to race in Gibbs equipment and have enormous resources at his disposal from a team focused solely on him. Of course, no one's sure exactly how good that Toyota equipment will be, but that's a subject for another post.
As a NASCAR fan who's never seen him compete in any other series, I've always had difficulty comprehending that Yeley once broke a record held by A.J. Foyt. I was reminded again yesterday by the team's press release.
Dave Moody is reporting that in the next two to three weeks, Joe Gibbs Racing will announce a deal with driver Kyle Busch for 2008 and beyond.
Rather than expand to a four-team operation to make room for the new foliage, J.J. Yeley is expected to be kicked to the curb and picked up by Wood Brothers/JTG Racing to drive the #21 Ford.
Busch would pilot the #18 Interstate Batteries Cheverolet Toyota.
Tony Stewart and Busch on the same team? This should be HIGHlarious. Will they be competing for the Most Outspoken Driver Award®? Calling All Sponsors: New award sponsorship opportunity available. This is an amazing opportunity for any pharmaceutical company to promote their drugs that relieve symptoms of the Foot in Mouth and It Wasn't My Fault diseases.
Jamie McMurray starts on the pole today. That's only happened twice before in his five-year Nextel Cup career, the last time at the 2005 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on July 24, 2005. He finished 11th. His first Bud Pole Award came at Homestead in 2004 where he finished 9th.
Robby Gordon will start 2nd in the Toyota/SaveMart 350. Last time he started that high in the field was here in 2003. He won. He owes TGOM a thank you. Because he was excluded from the power rankings, he has a shot at repeating.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. starts 3rd. Previously, his best start at Infineon Raceway came in 2005, which didn't work out too well for him. He started 10th, finished 42nd.
Speed TV will interrupt their regularly scheduled programming to carry the conference live at 11:00AM. Geoffrey Miller will interrupt his regularly schedule life to live blog the conference in the Fanhouse beginning at 10:30AM.
Update: ESPN's Marty Smith is reporting that his sources are saying that Kyle Busch will be out of the #5, as the Fanhouse previously predicted.
I know nothing is for certain 'til we hear it tomorrow, but this is Marty Smith talking, not Jerry Bonkowsi. And Busch's attorney had some very interesting comments:
"A lot of things may or may not occur. Out of respect for Hendrick Motorsports, we're not really sure what's going on yet. But we're trying. I don't think anything's changed yet. I cannot tell you that Kyle is out of the No. 5 for 2008."
They're inside the Top 35, but barely ... which means they're guaranteed a starting spot for Martinsville, but could find themselves qualifying for Texas if they don't perform well. Robert Yates: Driver turnover hasn't done much to improved their situation. Both teams in--the #38 in 24th and the #88 in 33rd.
Gene Haas: The #70 is hanging on for dear life tied for 34th. I think he thought he was doing a good thing moving popular--and talented--crew chief Bootie Barker over, but it doesn't seem to have improved much. Fortunately, the move hasn't hurt the #66 team either, they finished last season in 29th and are currently placed 28th.
Hall of Famers: #96 in 30th. I'd like to say this team isn't in bad shape for its age, but considering they finished last season in 26th I can't really support that argument. But, when you take into account that they no longer have a former champion behind the wheel, it's somewhat respectable.
With a guaranteed starting spot for the first five races (thanks, Terry Labonte), Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach's Hall of Fame Racing team has a fighting chance this season.
Driver Tony Raines was disappointed with his 32nd place finish after starting in the 20th position in Sunday's Daytona 500:
"It's a long couple of weeks to be down here for it to end up like that."
It might have been worse had he not been the beneficiary of a few extra spots after some more unfortunate drivers tangled in the late-race crash.
Aikman thinks the team is headed in the right direction:
"Last year we hoped the top 25 would be successful, and we were 26th. This year we want to be top 20 and win a race. The best thing we did last year was finish races."
The immediate goal, of course, is to keep finishing races and maintain their position in the top 35 in owners' points standings so they don't have to start racing their way in after the first five races.
32nd won't get 'em in the Hall of Fame, but they're off to an ok start.
Move over Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, the newly crafted alliance between Yates Racing and Hall of Fame Racing -- I don't know if we can call it a merger just yet -- has landed 2000 Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte.
Brad Coleman
At least he got to meet Jack Bauer before he lost his ride.
I guess you could say Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400 at 
Ousted Joe Gibbs Racing driver J.J. Yeley has signed a three-year deal with Hall of Fame Racing to replace Tony Raines in the # 96 Cup car sponsored by DLP beginning in 2008:
Dave Moody is 
Jamie McMurray starts on the pole today. That's only happened twice before in his five-year Nextel Cup career, the last time at the 2005 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on July 24, 2005. He finished 11th. His first Bud Pole Award came at Homestead in 2004 where he finished 9th.
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you the latest chapter from the As the World of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Turns.
With a guaranteed starting spot for the first five races (thanks, Terry Labonte), Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach's 
