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.

"It's as competitive a sport as there is, and it's a challenge," Garfinkel said. "This isn't about a financial investment. This isn't about anything except wanting to be part of building something great, and wanting to be part of the NASCAR community. Really they've already built a great organization at Hall of Fame Racing. We just want to build on top of that."

JGR to Toyota

Kyle Busch said an upcoming announcement at Joe Gibbs Racing will confirm the team is switching to Toyotas in 2008.

• Complete story, click here

Hearing that the new majority owners don't plan on huge changes in personnel at the organization was a key to getting the deal done, Saunders said.

"The thing that meant the most to us was keeping our team and our people intact," Saunders said. "That meant everything to us."

Nonetheless, Garfinkel confirmed that the team isn't certain that Tony Raines will remain the driver of the No. 96 car.

"I think it's real important to say right off the bat that Tony Raines is an integral part of Hall of Fame Racing, of the foundation that's been built there and the success that they've had. That being said, we don't have an answer to that question yet," Garfinkel said. "We'll evaluate that as we move forward now. ... We'll probably make a decision on that shortly for next year."

Raines currently is 31st in driver points, but he was taken out of the car for the two road-course races this season and the No. 96 stands a more respectable 25th in owner points. That is considered successful for a single-car operation that is in only its second Cup season, having finished 26th in owner points in its inaugural season last year when Raines split the ride with Terry Labonte.

Saunders credited the team's relationship with Gibbs for much of that success.

"I want to thank the guy that made this happen for us, and that's J.D.," Saunders said. "Without the Gibbs family and without J.D. we're not here. Without them, believe me, this one-car team doesn't happen."

It might not remain a one-car operation for long, although both Moorad and Garfinkel stressed that they will look to grow slow and carefully. Garfinkel, in fact, said that they will look at Joe Gibbs Racing as their business model.

"We want to grow the team, but we want to grow it smart when we have the right sponsor and we have the right driver," Garfinkel said. "I think Joe Gibbs Racing is a great example, the way they came into the sport with an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. They grew their team over time. They grew it with excellent people. They didn't grow too fast. They didn't grow for the sake of growth -- and they built a great organization.

"From our perspective, we would like to see it grow. I don't know that the conventional wisdom that you have to have a four-car team to grow is necessarily true, but we want to grow. We just want to do it the right way over time. When we do it we'll be smart about it."

Moorad also insisted that he and Garfinkel are in the sport for the long haul.

"The reality is that sports is about competing, and I love to compete," Moorad said. "I like a challenge and I'm a fan of the NASCAR model. As we hopefully earn the respect of those in the sport going forward, people will appreciate the fact that this is a long-term commitment from my standpoint as well as the group that is a part of our investment in the sport.

"We're serious. There are a number of CEOs and owners of businesses that are part of our group, and we're all equally committed to be a part of this sport for a long time."