1on1: Jeff Moorad (cont'd)

Q: Is it also a way to perhaps bring in new sponsors?

Moorad: Well, certainly that possibility exists. As we grow, which we are committed to doing but only if and when we're ready, we'll obviously be interested in talking with new sponsors. To the extent that those opportunities come in part from involvement of these professionals, I think that's a positive byproduct of the process.

Hall of Fame Racing

• Store: No. 96 '08 Die-Cast
• Community Page: J.J. Yeley

Q: This is the last year of the current sponsorship deal Hall of Fame Racing has with Texas Instruments/DLP. Where do you think your relationship with them may be headed?

Moorad: I think Texas Instruments and their DLP brand has done a phenomenal job of partnering with Hall of Fame Racing out of the gate. ... They saw the vision, as did Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and Bill Saunders [the founders and original owners of HOF Racing who remain involved as minority owners]. They bought into the vision. I think they've enjoyed, frankly, the creation along with Hall of Fame of a very credible foundation. At some appropriate point, we'll engage with [TI/DLP] about their future and our future together. But the reality is, as I've traveled with them in essence for the last six months as an owner, I've seen the significant value that they've achieved. And frankly, I've heard it from their chairman and CEO on down; I've heard about the opportunities that have been created as a result of their involvement in NASCAR. And again, we'll figure out the future at some point. I know that they've been very pleased with their involvement in the sport.

Q: What do you feel you gained from switching from Chevrolets to Toyotas for this season?

Moorad: We have great confidence in Toyota as a player in the sport. They've obviously proven themselves in virtually all the other circuits, and I think they're well on their way to showing what they can do in NASCAR as well. That having been said, just as I know that we will pay our dues as new owners in the sport and a relatively young team, we recognize that Toyota is doing the same thing.

Q: You talk about taking what you learned in baseball and applying it to this, but aren't they largely two different animals? How much can you realistically take what your model was in baseball and apply it to NASCAR?

Moorad: There is a great deal of similarity to the challenge, or to the individual challenges, of the two sports. I think it starts and largely ends with the people -- not only our drivers behind the wheel that we feel extremely good about this season -- but all the people involved in the team, from the leadership, in particular Tyler Epp, who is general manager in North Carolina, to the entire leadership team back at the race shop and all the way to the individual engineers and mechanics and tire changers.

In our view, every person is a critical component of the ultimate formula for success in the sport. That focus on individuals and their abilities, their integrity, their approach is really the same approach that we've employed out in Arizona with the Diamondbacks. It starts and largely ends with the people involved. And that's a key. Obviously, athletes on the field and race drivers behind the wheel are key components. But in our view, so are all the people behind the scenes who support them and their efforts.

Q: You're more or less on your own in this sport, in that you don't have protection of being part of a franchise system. Doesn't that make it more difficult to be successful?

Moorad: I think if you accept the system as just that, it might be limiting. The fact is when I expressed an interest to Tom about getting involved at the ownership level in NASCAR, the first recommendation he made was to sit down with [chairman and CEO] Brian France and [president] Mike Helton. I liken that meeting, to be frank, with the meeting I had with [commissioner] Bud Selig in Milwaukee when I first transitioned over from the agent business to ownership in baseball. We view our role in NASCAR not unlike the role that we play in Arizona with Major League Baseball.

Even though there aren't formal, technical franchises in place, the reality is there is a need for good partners in the sport. And in our view -- well, strike that -- at Hall of Fame Racing, we're committed to being a good partner of NASCAR. We believe that ultimately if other team owners -- which I believe they do -- have that same commitment to the sport, it will end up being to the benefit of all of us.

Q: What do you take from being an agent that you transferred to ownership in baseball that you continue to apply to what you're doing now?

Moorad: I negotiated J.J.'s contract. He had an adviser who we interfaced with. Listen, I have a unique perspective certainly because of my time on the representation side of the sports industry, as it relates to the individual athletes. But I appreciate the fact that whether it's a player or a driver or any athlete involved in sports, that the business process is one that demands focus on compensation and financial structuring and the like. So I'm probably as open-minded as any owner could be about that process, because of my experience on the other side. But I certainly appreciate it as being part of the landscape. (Continued)