Yeley excited about move to HOF, Toyota in 2008 (cont'd)

"If you go out there and run two hours of [Busch] practice, you've still made laps, you've basically got kind of warmed up, and it's easier to get in the Cup car and make a qualifying run the first run of the day because you've got confidence in it.

"I still consider myself young to the sport and I just need that time in the racecar. Guys who've been doing this 10 or 15 years, it's just like anything else -- they just get in the car and they go. But I think I'm a little more sharp when I run the Busch car versus when I haven't."

Yeley's competed in 28 of 33 Busch races so far this season, which will become the Nationwide Series next season and is 17th in the standings.

The driver's enthusiasm is shared by his new primary owners, who said Friday they have no immediate plans to alter the team name or identity, while retaining its original owners, NFL Hall of Famers Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman and three others, as partners.

"I think we were trying to be diligent about giving the team the best opportunity to be successful and to win," Garfinkel said. "The conclusion to that was obviously, our alliance with Gibbs has been strong -- J.D. [Gibbs, JGR president] and I have known each other for a long while, we're friends; they've been a big part of our success, from a manufacturing support standpoint.

"We've been leasing engines from them and we'll continue that, moving forward. I think it was a natural fit to continue with Gibbs and to partner with Toyota -- that was our desire all along."

"With veteran leadership from J.J., we expect to win -- of course after we pay our dues," Moorad said. "If we didn't think J.J. had the ability to win, we wouldn't have signed him."

Yeley thinks his two years of experience at Joe Gibbs Racing will do nothing but help in his new surroundings.

"Hopefully, I can bring a little bit of the experience to the team that I obviously gained at Joe Gibbs Racing," Yeley said. "I think this is going to be a terrific partnership with Toyota. Continuing to get our equipment from Gibbs is going to make that transition a little bit easier.

"We had a test a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta. I drove the Hall of Fame car and we were 12th and 15th in practice, without really making any changes to the team; so, I think we have a very strong base, and we'll add a lot more depth, as far as personnel.

"There may be some little things that this team is lacking. People make a big deal because this is a one-car team, and there's only one crew chief. We have to make it work for me as a driver. There are only 40 or 50 guys in our organization, compared to the 300 or 400 guys that some other organizations have.

"But, we have a closer knit group of people and I think we can get more out of our team."

Garfinkel agreed, saying that at the moment, he had no concerns about maintaining a competitive level as a single team competing against the sport's acknowledged powerhouses, multi-car operations that include Gibbs, Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing.

"I think being a smaller team can be an advantage in some ways," Garfinkel said. "We have 40 employees, our own shop and our own race team. We want to grow independently and have a second car -- we're not Gibbs' fourth car by any means, though they've been a great partner to us."

Yeley said he's ready to get going with his next assignment, which he's already begun.

"It's been a matter of I still have a job to do in 2007 at Joe Gibbs Racing," Yeley said. "The [JGR] crew has worked very hard for me and they are all good friends. I want to go out and run well for them, and I know they want to win a race for me before I leave.

"At the same time, I'm going to the Hall of Fame shop and meeting with the guys to build up our relationships. We've already had some tests, and we have a few more private tests coming.

"Hall of Fame is my future and my time at Joe Gibbs Racing is almost over. I want to get things going with my new team so we can start next year and prove we're capable of making the Chase and winning races."

Yeley's first appearance in a Toyota in Sprint Cup competition will come in the Feb. 9 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. Yeley earned his way into the special event for 2007's Bud Pole winners via his first career Nextel Cup pole last June 15 at Michigan International Speedway.