Yates and HOF partner up, new sponsor:: Hall of Fame Racing [#96] and Yates Racing [#28, #38, #98], are forging a relationship that is expected to include sponsorship from Ask.com, one of the few companies with new money to spend in the sport.(Sports Business Journal), no other details mentioned.(1-12-2009)

 

UPDATE: Yates Racing and Hall of Fame Racing (HOF) announced an alignment of their two teams. Under the agreement, Yates Racing will operate the #96 Sprint Cup entry of Hall of Fame Racing for the full 2009 Sprint Cup schedule. Doug Yates and Max Jones will continue as co-owners of Yates Racing, while Tom Garfinkel and Jeff Moorad will continue as co-owners of Hall of Fame Racing. With the recent expansion of the Yates Racing facilities, the #96 Ford Fusion will operate out of the Yates Racing complex, located in Concord, N.C. “This partnership with Hall of Fame is a great stepping stone for the Yates organization,” said Max Jones, co-owner and General Manager of Yates Racing. “Through this partnership, we are able to continue the expansion of our shop and field another Sprint Cup entry. We, along with Ford Racing, welcome Hall of Fame Racing and look forward to a very successful season.”
“Jeff Moorad and I knew it would take time to construct the right model to improve our competitive position in the sport and we think we’ve come a long way to achieving that through our association with Yates Racing,” said Tom Garfinkel, co-owner of Hall of Fame Racing. “We’re proud to be associated with Doug and Max and Ford Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.” The Hall of Fame Racing entry will make its competitive debut at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 12 during the Gatorade 150 qualifying races.(Yates Racing PR)(1-13-2009)

 

So does this mean that Yates will have 4 cars this season? And that 5th Roush team won't end up at Yates at the end of the season?

 

UPDATE 2: sources tell me that Labonte could drive for Yates Racing, which may be the #96 Ford which makes sense since the #96 is out of the top 35 in owners points and Labonte is a past Cup champ, so he would have a past champions provisional to use [since Labonte was the Champ in 2000, he would get the spot before #21-Bill Elliott, who was the 1988 champ, but after #14-Stewart, who was a champ in 2005], also hearing the #98 Yates Racing Ford will use the #38 Yates Racing owners points for the 1st five races, guaranteeing Paul Menard and sponsor Menards of making the 1st five races of 2009.
AND Labonte will drive the #96 car for Yates Racing, multiple sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday. Hall of Fame Racing announced earlier in the day that it has aligned itself with Yates Racing to run the 96 for the entire Sprint Cup season. Team officials said a driver announcement would come on Wednesday. Sources said Labonte, who had been in discussions with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing for the #8 car, will be that driver as part of a three-car operation. Sources said the car will be sponsored by Ask.com. Labonte and Yates officials could not be reached for comment regarding Labonte.(ESPN)(1-13-2009)
AND II:NASCAR.com is reporting: Bobby Labonte will drive the #96 Ford in 2009, three sources on Tuesday evening. A formal announcement is to be made Wednesday, according to the sources, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.(NASCAR.com)(1-13-2009)

 

Good info thanks!!!! Having Bobby wil be very good since he got pushed out of Petty...

 

Quite possible. However, I wouldn't set anything in stone yet as we have no idea what will happen going forward. If the 98 team doesn't work out well, I could easily see them dumping that car and picking up that Roush car in it's stead. If HOF's finances improve, they could separate after the season and pick up that Roush team to increase their size. And who knows how the drivers will shake out after the season.

But for now Yates is a 4-car team and given how huge an advantage superteams still have, I'm happy for them. If they start succeeding and 2009 isn't the Jimmie Johnson Victory Tour MK.4, NASCAR might hold my attention.

 

Very interesting. Thanks for posting, Zoran! I would love to see Yates back on top!