HAMPTON, Ga. -- Tony Raines will tell you -- just making the field in 2008 is a victory for him.

Last season Raines had a full-time ride with Hall of Fame Racing, finished 29th in points with an average finish of 25.8 and 11 top-20 finishes. But Hall of Fame Racing was looking to the future and didn't think Raines fit into its plans, so he was replaced by J.J. Yeley.

Since then, Raines has had to take rides where he can find them as he has driven three different cars for two different teams this season (Front Row Motorsports and Haas CNC Racing). He has made the field in nine of 32 events coming into Sunday's Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Thanks to rain washing out qualifying, Raines will start the No. 70 Haas CNC Chevrolet at Atlanta, but he will have his work cut out for him after starting Sunday's race 43rd. That doesn't bother Raines though -- the most important thing for him is he gets to fire the car up on Sunday.

"The worst part is, we're starting 43rd [but] if your car's good here you have room to pass -- it's not a death sentence, so to speak, but it certainly is an uphill battle," Raines said. "Starting 43rd at these races is tough with the competition the way it is, but 43rd is a lot better than sitting on the couch."

With Haas CNC handing over the operation to Tony Stewart in 2009, and Stewart and Ryan Newman driving the two Stewart-Haas entries, Raines finds himself once again looking for employment. And it doesn't appear to be very promising.

"Well we're lookin' like the stock market [right now]," Raines said with a chuckle. "You know, it's just tough everywhere. A few years ago there were more rides than drivers and right now it's kind of turning the other way around where there's more drivers than rides.

"There's a few small possibilities out there, but I think those are all gonna wait until the last minute so we'll see what happens. Hopefully we'll be racing something somewhere and continue to have some fun."

At 44, Raines doesn't exactly fit the mold of what owners are looking for in a driver. He doesn't have the marketing appeal of guys like Joey Logano, Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski. But Raines doesn't think the youth are driving the sport and he believes there are rides out there for guys like him.

"I don't think the youth drive is as strong as it once was," Raines said. "If you're doing it from a business standpoint, young people tend to work cheaper than guys that have a lot of overhead.

"But Jeff Burton won at Charlotte and he's 41 and he's a hell of a driver and he kinda gave all us older guys a smile. Ken Schrader came back this year and he's like 52 and he's as good as anybody. Jeff Gordon is 38 and he's still a hell of a driver. So to me, I don't think it's as big an issue as it once was. But if I'm an owner and I'm looking at it from a financial standpoint, if the car's in the race and it's runnin' you don't want to be spending a lot of money doing it."

Even though the outlook is bleak for Raines, he's keeping his focus on the Cup Series. If it were up to Raines he would rather not race in the Nationwide or Truck series, although he will if that is the opportunity that presents itself. But Raines has been in this situation before and if an owner needs a driver, he'll be there waiting for the call to come in.

"I'm open for anything, but I will say I've stayed on [the Cup] side of the garage looking more than I have on the other side. We'll just see," Raines said. "You know, it's a small community. When there's an opportunity they tend to know who's available as drivers. It's funny, they're good at finding you when they need you."