AVONDALE, Ariz. -- If J.J. Yeley had his way, he'd be racing Toyota Camrys full time in NASCAR's two premier series next season; but for right now, he'll gladly settle for driving Hall of Fame Racing's No. 96 Sprint Cup Toyotas in 2008.

Hall of Fame's new team principals, Arizona Diamondbacks' owners Tom Garfinkel and Jeff Moorad, along with Phoenix native Yeley and a number of Toyota officials Friday announced at Phoenix International Raceway that the team, which debuted in 2006, will use Toyotas and be supported by Toyota Racing Development next season.

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J.J. Yeley

HOF to Toyota

Hall of Fame Racing made it official on Friday announcing the single-car team driven by J.J. Yeley will switch to Toyota for the 2008 season.

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In doing so, the team maintains its alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, which for two years supplied Chevrolet chassis, bodies and engines for the team that is 28th in the driver standings with Tony Raines but 23rd in the more critical owner standings, which ensure it starting positions in the first five races of 2008.

Yeley said he's seen enough this season to be enthused about running Camrys next season.

"They just fix any kind of problems that they have," Yeley said. "They've taken the Truck Series by storm and they've done identically the same thing in the Busch Series."

The only two Toyotas running full time in the Busch Series with the same drivers all season are second and third in the standings -- with David Reutimann and Jason Leffler -- behind Nextel Cup regular Carl Edwards, who clinched the championship last weekend.

"They came out and struggled a little bit, but now you look at them and they build more horsepower and more torque than the other manufacturers and their cars are terrific," Yeley said. "I think you're going to see next season in the [Nationwide] Series, the teams that have Toyotas are going to dominate -- just like in the Truck Series.

"And I think that time is coming to the Cup Series. Once they get everything figured out -- when they join something they do it 100 percent -- and I think they've worked very hard on fixing the problems they've had and trying to make things better so when the time comes, and hopefully it's next year, they'll show their dominance."

Yeley said he's talking to a couple teams and hopes to know within the next three weeks whether his desire to compete for the Nationwide Series' championship will come to fruition. He said his contract doesn't tie him to racing for a Toyota Nationwide team, but he wants to compete for wins, and the championship.

"I want to run the whole series, because I just don't feel it's worth the time and effort to go run 20 races and not run the entire package," Yeley said. "You spend so much time doing it, that I want to run for the championship.

"I know some guys don't like to travel, but it's really not that difficult a process getting from one race to another -- there are only two that are a real problem -- and I feel if you're going to do it, go all the way."

At Phoenix this weekend, Yeley is competing in four events: USAC Midget and Silver Crown races, which he ran Thursday night; Saturday's Busch Series Arizona Travel 200; and Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500; so a twin schedule in 2008 doesn't daunt him.

"I think it's more the racer in me," Yeley said. "There's not as much to learn from the Busch car to the Cup [Car of Tomorrow] like there used to be, but for me I still enjoy it just because it's racing.

"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.