Hall of Fame Racing (#96) Shuts Down and will not race in 2009

According to sources close to the situation, Hall of Fame Racing has shut its doors. Just days before the holiday season, team personnel were reportedly told the team would close shop. The team has reportedly been contacting other organizations indicating their equipment is now for sale.

Losing their affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing, without a full-time sponsor secured for 2009 and with no driver to pilot the ride, owners Tom Garfinkel and Jeff Moorad have apparently decided to cut their losses and call it quits.

Brad Coleman, who looked to be the future of Hall of Fame Racing, was signed by Joe Gibbs Racing to help pilot the No. 20 Nationwide Series ride last Friday. Layoffs cut the staff of the team and according to many reports team?s lease on their race shop expires this month.

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Permalink Reply by TOG on January 1, 2009 at 2:43pm

blitz- look at the bright side. You will get the 2008 and the 2009 editions . I won my lawsuit against the t-shirt company who messed up my order 3 times, so things will be rolling real soon.#1 priority on my list.I also had to 'adjust' the #7 a bit.

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Permalink Reply by Garrett Gleason on January 1, 2009 at 5:13pm

Yay! I've been waiting for a Planet Robby Shirt for a while now. Glad to hear it.

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Permalink Reply by Edward M. Corrado on January 1, 2009 at 3:30pm

Lots of Cup teams are having $$ issues and shutting down, but I jut counted full time Nationwide teams on Jayski and t is even worse there. I counted only 23 full-time teams with solid plans. It will be interesting to see how many cars/trucks show up races in mid-season in all 3 of the top NASCAR series.

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Permalink Reply by john mcglasson on January 1, 2009 at 10:06pm

What a dick you are. You're clock's running out too bud. But at least RG's with a supermodel at 30,000 ft. Where are you headed?

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Permalink Reply by Lance on January 2, 2009 at 9:53am

I agree with RGFan on this one. Remember, even though there are a lot of teams at the bottom that are struggling, Cup racing is still very top heavy. Roush, Hendrick, Childress, and Gibbs should be at full power again next year and that's 20 cars alone. We're still not counting the Penske, Team Red Bull, or EGR which I expect to make waves next year. Robby will definitely do better, but the chase is going to be tough.

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Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on January 3, 2009 at 3:54am

Why do people here get ripped on for being honest and realistic?

If RG puts the car in the top 25 all season and have four top five finishes, thats an improvement and a moderatel successful season at this point.

If he actually pulls out a win, well then icing, meet cake.

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Permalink Reply by FlyHiFlyLo on January 1, 2009 at 4:25pm

Some extra yotas laying around now. Gibbs Yotas at that.

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Permalink Reply by Edward M. Corrado on January 1, 2009 at 4:43pm

Are the chassis any different with the CoT? Just the sheet metal and motor are different, no?

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Permalink Reply by Edward M. Corrado on January 1, 2009 at 5:48pm

I guess I wasn't clear. I meant the chassus aren't different between car manufactures? Or am I wrong?

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Permalink Reply by Matt on January 1, 2009 at 7:11pm

They are the same, meaning you could change a Chevy to a Ford to a Toyota in a matter of days. The big differences in chassis from team to team are going to be suspension geometry and bump stop configuration. The only things that need to be addressed with a manufacturer change is engine mounting brackets, hose and wire routing, and the front and rear nose pieces on the body.

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Permalink Reply by Lance on January 2, 2009 at 9:54am

Who would want those crappy chassis anyway? haha

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Permalink Reply by Bigzoom on January 1, 2009 at 10:05pm

When asked about his swith to Toyota, Robby stated it wasn't a big deal inventory wise and only takes about 4 hours per car to switch from Dodge to Toyota....4 HOURS! Not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing.