Hall of Fame Racing, the new NASCAR team owned by former Cowboys quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, has signed its first driver Dallas resident Alex Whitman. Whitman, 29, is the son of Paul Whitman, who is part of the ownership group for the team. Alex Whitman will compete in the Busch Series in 2004 if adequate funding is secured. “We have a couple of things lined up, and we’re cautiously optimistic about it,” said Starke Taylor, the team’s marketing director. “But as far as having a Busch primary sponsor, we’re not there yet. Time is a big factor now, and we’re pushing very hard to get it done.” “We’ve been high on Alex for a long time. He’s aggressive and he’s smart, but we wanted to test him. He couldn’t have done better. He’s not ready to step in a Busch car tomorrow, but there’s a lot of people in this business who feel he has a bright future,” said Bill Saunders, managing partner for Hall of Fame Racing. Whitman has raced at lower levels for several years, including late model stocks, Sports Club Car of America road races and Skip Barber Dodge events. He will compete in the ARCA race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 9, in a car owned by Winston Cup veteran Ken Schrader. Whitman will continue to drive in selected events for other teams until Hall of Fame Racing is ready to make its debut. Competing in 2004 remains uncertain. “I would say it’s 50-50,” Saunders said. “We have sponsors involved, but we just haven’t found the right deal yet, and we’re going to do this right. We will not race next year without proper funding, but we are in this for the long haul, even if that means 2005 before we get going.” Saunders said the team will have more to say in early November about hiring a director of racing, possibly partnering with an existing NASCAR team and acquiring a shop near Charlotte.( Dallas Morning News )(9-19-2003) UPDATE – still needs Busch driver: Dallas resident Alex Whitman has a future with Hall of Fame Racing, but not as its first NASCAR Busch Series driver. Bill Saunders, managing partner of the first-year racing organization owned by former Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, said Friday that various media reports stating that Whitman had been hired as a Busch Series driver were wrong. “It’s the wildest thing,” Saunders said. “Alex is one of our drivers, but he’s not going to go in our Busch car. He doesn’t have the experience to go into a Busch car.” Whitman, 29, made his ARCA Re/Max Series debut with a sixth-place finish in the Eddie Gilstrap 200 on the Salem (Ind.) Speedway last Saturday. “He did a great job in our first ARCA test,” Saunders said. “That’s the first time he was in an ARCA car, so there’s no way he could step into the Busch car.” Saunders said Whitman will drive a car owned by NASCAR Winston Cup regular Kenny Schrader in an ARCA event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on Oct. 9. “Then we’ll be looking for money for him for ARCA or [NASCAR] Craftsman Truck in 2004,” Saunders said. “But he will not be driving our Busch car.” Saunders reiterated that if the team cannot sign a primary sponsor for its Busch Series effort on or around Nov. 1, there will be no need to hire a driver for 2004.( Fort Worth Star Telegram ) (see past news on my Team News and Links Page – Hall of Fame Racing )(9-19-2003)
