FONTANA, Calif. -- A few years back, when Bill Saunders, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach were making the rounds in NASCAR and asking questions about starting up their own Nextel Cup race team, they stopped one day at Joe Gibbs Racing headquarters in Huntersville, N.C.

J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR, said that he and his father, team owner Joe, had a very simple piece of advice for the erstwhile Cup team owners.

"Our first words of advice were: 'Don't do it,'" Gibbs said.

It didn't work. Saunders went on to found Hall of Fame Racing with the two former National Football League star quarterbacks, and Saunders was on hand Sunday at California Speedway to announce that the group has formed a new partnership with Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel.

Moorad and Garfinkel, in fact, have acquired controlling interest in ownership of HOF Racing. But they made it clear Sunday that they are looking to build on what Saunders, Aikman and Staubach began, not tear it down.

That includes continuing and expanding their relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing. And if JGR switches from Chevrolet to Toyota engines next season as expected (an official announcement could come as soon as Wednesday), that means HOF Racing will be making the switch, too.

"I think as they grow, there is going to be more they can contribute back to JGR and probably less we'll have to do for them," Gibbs said. "But eventually they'll be their own entity. To be honest, engines is probably one area you don't want to get involved with right away."

Moorad is no stranger to big-time sports. Currently the general partner and chief executive officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball, Moorad made his mark as a top agent, representing such athletes as Aikman, Manny Ramirez, Will Clark, Steve Young and Warren Moon through Moorad Sports Management, the company he founded in 1983.

Moorad has been named among the 100 Most Powerful People in Sports by The Sporting News magazine eight times.

"I've been in the sports industry now for about 23 years," Moorad said. "I've learned a lot, and I continue to learn over in Arizona as the CEO of the Diamondbacks. I've been a NASCAR junkie for a lot of years, but I come both as a fan as well as a business person with a desire to build an organization -- taking a platform that's in place and build something even better and perhaps even bigger."

Garfinkel, who currently works with Moorad as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Diamondbacks, worked previously as an executive vice president for Chip Ganassi Racing and has 12 years of motorsports management experience. (Continued)