Philippe Lopez, right, began the 2005 season as the crew chief for Dave Blaney with the No. 07 team. Credit: Autostock

Hall of Fame Racing tabs Lopez as its crew chief

Philippe Lopez has been named crew chief for the new Hall of Fame Racing operation.

Hall of Fame partners Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Bill Saunders have given Lopez the job of putting together the Texas Instruments team that will compete on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series in 2006.

ALSO Texas Instruments will be the primary sponsor for a NASCAR team run by former NFL stars Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, who aim to have a car and driver ready for the Daytona 500 in February.  •   Complete story, click here Scott Miller will assume crew chief duties for Richard Childress Racing's No. 07 Chevrolet, replacing Philippe Lopez, who has been offered a position in RCR's research and development department.  •   Complete story, click here

"My first priority is to get the shop up and running," said Lopez, who was working in the research and development department at Richard Childress Racing before taking the job with Hall of Fame Racing.

"We are working very closely with Joe Gibbs Racing," Lopez said. "That will give us a great advantage right from the start. Jimmy Makar [General Manager at Gibbs] has already been a big help in getting the ball rolling.

"You can't put a price on what they will be bringing to the table as this team gets ready to go Nextel Cup racing. We are quickly getting the shop up and running, sourcing the equipment that we need and hiring the people that we want."

Lopez, who was one of the first persons that the late Dale Earnhardt hired when he decided DEI should go Cup racing in 1998, said the team's relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing means he does not have to focus on building race cars "any time soon." JGR will provide the team with Chevrolet Monte Carlos and engines as well as the technology needed to be competitive in the Nextel Cup Series.

Lopez, who was born in Verdun, France, and grew up in San Antonio, Texas, has plenty of experience with getting a new team off the ground. His most famous may have been his time with Earnhardt's operation but he has successfully help build others as well.

Lopez was in his third year of studying mechanical engineering at Texas A&M when Stanley Smith hired him to direct his NASCAR All-American Challenge Series effort. Smith won his first race with Lopez and the next year Smith won the series championship under Lopez's leadership.

Lopez moved to the Cup Series in 1994 when he was named crew chief for the A.G. Dillard Motorsports operation with Ward Burton as the driver. Lopez later worked with A.J. Foyt when Foyt started his Cup team.

"We have a lot to do between now and Daytona [on Feb. 19, 2006]," Lopez said, "but with the help of the folks at Joe Gibbs Racing we are ready for the challenge of Nextel Cup racing."

• Hall of Fame Racing also announced the hiring of Len Batycki as vice president of marketing and John Fuller as comptroller.

Batycki has worked in motorsports for more than 15 years. He joined North Carolina Motor Speedway in 1990, working there for almost six years, the last two as vice president of marketing. He moved to Richard Childress Racing in 1996 as vice president of business development.

Batycki left RCR in 2002. Shortly afterwards, he was named senior vice president/motorsports group for Ogilvy PR Worldwide. In July 2004, he joined Doug Herbert Performance Parts as executive vice president and general manger.

Fuller comes to Hall of Fame Racing from ppc racing. Fuller graduated from Clemson University in 1996 with a degree in accounting. He earned his CPA while working for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Fuller joined ppc racing in 1999.