TRG sells a dream based on quality, persistence (cont'd)

"I met Kevin a few years ago, had kept an eye on him and when he made the move to NASCAR I figured 'here's a sports car guy trying this, and he'll find out how tough it is,'" Galida said. "But he's been successful at everything he's ever done. It was impressive to win a race in his first [Truck] season and I decided it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

"I think we have a shared vision of what we're trying to do, which I don't think you could have done three years ago, when several well-financed teams left Daytona without making the [Daytona 500]. The economy has caused some fundamental changes in the sport, and we're going to take advantage of that."

TRG missed the 2009 Daytona 500, but despite being a go-or-go-home car virtually all season, has made 30 consecutive races. The entire NASCAR organization is comprised of well under 30 people and the fleet only now totals seven cars.

Buckler continually cites his group as "the toughest dog in this fight, considering our weight," and credits his team's ability to move quickly, such as when 2000 Cup champion Bobby Labonte became available. Buckler's been successful in selling the dream as his regular driver, David Gilliland, stepped out of some planned races to allow Labonte to drive TRG's car seven times.

And Buckler tries not to forget these things, like Lally's role in multiple championships, including three Grand-Am GT drivers' titles. So all things considered, it makes TRG's short term hopes almost modest, considering the Cup team didn't exist at the end of 2008.

"The perfect scenario would be to have David and Bobby driving together, with Bobby in one [Cup] car and David in another, even if we can't do a full season with it," Buckler said; "and [building] a program around Andy Lally as a development driver. I so believe in him because we started this whole deal together."

And in a maddening cycle, that takes Buckler full circle to the latest beginning he and Galida are trying to fashion, in the tough economy the marketing veteran cited. Buckler said sponsorship interest has been encouraging and negotiations continue to form a Nationwide team for next season, as well as at least "a Cup-team-and-a-half."

Funding remains the magic bullet in the troubled economy. Buckler has entertained inquiries from other manufacturers -- though he stressed, given the championship legacy he established with Pontiac's Grand-Am program in 2006, he has a commitment to General Motors and Chevrolet.

"It makes it even more of a challenge because people don't want to bet on someone they haven't heard of before, from either a fan's perspective or a sponsor's perspective particularly. And from a team owner's perspective it's easier to default to a known quantity -- but we all need new blood.

"We need new guys that can get it done, with good personalities that can bring something to the sport -- like a [Marcos] Ambrose or a [Max] Papis -- some fun new faces, but also someone who can get it done, and that's Andy."

That also appears to be Buckler, who's surrounded himself with veteran stock car guys like crew chief Slugger Labbe and team manager Mike Brown -- and now Galida -- and let them run. Butch Hylton was a key to the initial organization before leaving earlier this season.

"We're trying to set ourselves as the new paradigm for next season," Buckler said. "We want to be efficient, competitive and have really good people on board who are motivated to make this program work. I'm just one of the guys and surrounding myself with veterans like Slugger and Mike and Torrey -- and hopefully Bobby are keys to this success." (Continued)