After meeting with Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach last week in Dallas, veteran NASCAR driver Tony Raines said he hopes he convinced the former Cowboys to hire him as the man behind the wheel of their Hall of Fame Racing team next season. “I don’t know anything officially, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” Raines said. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime. I think these are the right guys at the right time for me.” Raines, 41, has met with officials for the new Nextel Cup team three times. Bill Saunders, the managing partner for the team, said last week that it hopes to announce its driver within two weeks. HOF officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Raines is a native of Laporte, Ind., but lives in Concord, N.C., near Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He has competed in 54 Cup events since 2002. Raines ran a full season in 2003 and had one top-10 finish for an under-funded [now with #37] team. He has raced seven years in the Busch Series, finishing a career-best sixth in the 2001 standings. He said he was impressed with what he heard from Aikman and Staubach. “Troy and Roger aren’t getting into this just to be there,” Raines said. “They are successful people who are doing this to be competitive and win.”(Dallas Monring News),. hearing Hall of Fame Racing expects to announce the driver at Charlotte next week before the races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Other rumored drivers include Ward Burton, Paul Tracy and Mike Wallace.(10-6-2005)
