Aikman-Staubach racing team makes Texas debut this week

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach are back on "home" turf -- in an entirely different venue.

"I do believe that the Texas NASCAR fan is probably a Cowboys fan," Aikman said Thursday. "That doesn't necessarily mean that 96 is the car they're rooting for."

The Hall of Fame quarterbacks who combined to win the Dallas Cowboys' five Super Bowl championships -- Staubach two in the 1970s and Aikman three in the 1990s -- are making their Texas debut as NASCAR owners this weekend.

Hall of Fame Racing's entry, the No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet, is off to a respectable start in its inaugural season. At 29th in owners points, the team is guaranteed a spot in the Nextel Cup race closest to where the former quarterbacks starred on the field and the home of the primary sponsor.

Still, the team is a long way from being as popular as the ones with drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman -- whose car numbers prevented Hall of Fame Racing from using either of the quarterback's jersey numbers. So Nos. 8 and 12 were multiplied for 96.

Two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte drove the first five races, which Aikman said "worked out really, really well for us."

Labonte's past champion provision ensured that Hall of Fame got in every race. That included the season-opening Daytona 500 after NASCAR found an unapproved carburetor during qualifying, and two other races when the car didn't qualify on speed.

Tony Raines took over as planned last week at Martinsville, where he qualified 12th and finished 21st running a conservative race on the short track.

"I know Tony was disappointed in himself and Philippe [Lopez, the crew chief] was disappointed in himself. To me, I like that," Aikman said. "I walked away saying, 'Not bad, a top-25 finish,' but the fact that those guys expected more of themselves, that's encouraging."

Raines will complete the schedule, except for two road races that Labonte will run.

Aikman and Staubach got into NASCAR with realistic expectations as a single-car startup team. They wanted to do things the right way.

Three years elapsed between the time they decided to put together a team and when they finally put a car on the track this season.

"I'm guarded about saying, well if we can be in the top 25 or the top 20 at the end of the season, we'd really be pleased, because we'd all like to win. That certainly is the objective," Aikman said. "But for us being in our first year, that's a realistic expectation. Next year, our goals would obviously enhance."