New Hall of Fame owners bring a bit of 'Moneyball' (cont'd)

It's a tactic right out of Moneyball, the book detailing how general manager Billy Beane built the Oakland Athletics by relying heavily on statistical analysis, an approach that saved teams millions of dollars and revolutionized the way baseball executives think. While Moorad wouldn't say what data was used in the Yeley analysis, or what other drivers he was compared against -- "I think we view that as proprietary," he said -- the process was not unlike the way baseball teams study blossoming minor leaguers, searching for that next big-league star.

"We certainly appreciate the fact that motorsports is an entirely different discipline," Moorad said. "But we also believe that some of the strategic, disciplined thinking we've used with the baseball team applies to NASCAR. I'd be giving the wrong impression if I suggested that they're interchangeable techniques and skills, but there are certainly similarities."

Garfinkel has a background in racing much longer than his career in baseball, having worked for five years as executive vice president at Chip Ganassi's NASCAR organization before Moorad lured him to the desert to help rebuild the Diamondbacks. The two buried themselves in baseball, trying to right an organization that had won a World Series in 2001. But in their free time, they found themselves talking about racing. Moorad had long been a friend of Aikman's -- a former agent, he and partner Leigh Steinberg represented the quarterback during his playing days -- and that association led to thoughts of entering NASCAR.

Moorad said the team explored opportunities for much of the last year, expecting to get involved with a larger organization until Aikman convinced him that Hall of Fame might be a good fit. The two sides talked for the first time at the March race in Las Vegas, and the deal was announced before the Labor Day event at California. Garfinkel said Aikman and Staubach still maintain ownership shares, are still involved, and will be consulted before big decisions are made. But as Wednesday morning's employee meeting will attest, the baseball boys are in control now.

"It was easy to see after just two meetings with both of these guys that they're very intelligent businessmen, and they understand racing," said Yeley, coincidentally a Phoenix native and D'backs fan. "Those two things are hard to find in this sport. You have teams that have been around for a very long time in this sport that are maybe racers, but don't have the best of the business side. And you have these new guys coming in who are complete businessmen who don't completely understand the racing. I think they've got both sides of the spectrum covered."

While Moorad and Garfinkel hope to be tied up with baseball through October, they plan to attend upcoming Nextel Cup events at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. Garfinkel was at the Sept. 30 event in Kansas City, flying in from Denver the morning after Arizona clinched the N.L. West crown. Although some cross-promotion between Hall of Fame and the Diamondbacks is possible, this arrangement isn't like the recent merger between Roush Racing and the parent company of the Boston Red Sox, where ownership is common on both sides.

As for any NASCAR side bet between Moorad and Red Sox owner John Henry, it may be a bit premature. "I'm knocking on wood as I even hear that question," joked Moorad, whose baseball team has to deal with the Colorado Rockies first. "That actually hasn't even conceptualized yet."