I’d like to welcome Bruce Simmons back to the forum this week as he is now officially back from his trip. Bruce, it’s good to have ya back. I’d also like to thank Roc for stepping up to the plate for us last week in his absence and keeping this alive. And, of course, with us as always is Charlie Turner from On Pit Row. Now, let’s get started.

At the end of April, future NFL Hall of Famer, Randy Moss, announced that he was looking to break into NASCAR as a team owner, more specifically in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2009. With Moss’ announcement immediately came speculation that he would get his team into a few races prior to the end of this season, and rumors began to fly surrounding the team’s manufacturer, sponsor, and affiliates. Many even believed that Moss would land one of the bigger stars from the Sprint Cup Series to debut his truck.

The rumors were finally laid to rest two months later when Moss announced that he had bought into Morgan-Dollar Motorsports as a part-owner, and that the team would be renamed Moss Motorsports. They renumbered the truck #81 in favor of Moss’ jersey number, and the new team debuted at Kentucky Speedway in July with Willie Allen behind the wheel, finishing 15th.

Things continue to evolve for the race team, however, as they have recently announced an agreement that will put two-time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the no. 81 truck at Bristol on August 20th. Johnson has never in his career competed in a Craftsman Truck race, and some feel that it may be the result of the partnership between Lowe’s - Johnson’s Sprint Cup sponsor - and Kobalt Tools, which will sponsor the #81 entry in the truck race.

Q: Is Randy Moss’ recent 50% purchase of what is now Moss Motorsports good for the sport?

TZ: I know there’s a lot of fans out there that probably only see this deal go down on the surface and immediately think to themselves, ‘oh, that’s crap’. Let me tell you, I don’t care if he’s white, black, or yellow, Randy Moss is a smart businessman, and he’s grown up an avid fan of racing. I also like the non-NASCAR star power that he brings to our sport, and it’s already taking its effect by putting Jimmie Johnson in a Craftsman Truck race for the first time in his career next month at Bristol. In my book, kudos to Randy Moss for venturing down this path.

Bruce:  I think it will bring a different demographic to the sport to some degree as Randy Moss fans might just tune in to see what this is about.  Right?  Maybe?  We can hope.  New fans are always a good thing, regardless of how many or few.

Charlie:  It is a step forward in NASCAR’s drive for diversity. But Randy Moss is an OWNER. He isn’t going to bring any star power to the sport beyond this initial slash of publicity as his new venture is announced. Do you doubt this. If so, name for me  - quick - three other Craftsman Truck team owners. If you can do it, look at the names and then quantify how many fans those owners bring to the races. Did Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman bring a bunch of Cowboys football fans to NASCAR? If Moss can hang in  for more than three years and build his team into something more than it is today, then he will have accomplished something significant.

Want more? The “Loose in Turn 3″ trio answers three questions each and every week, so be sure to check out the other sites to get the rest of our weekly discussion.

Over at On Pit Row, we answer “Should Tony Stewart look for the hot, young prospect, maybe someone from the open wheel ranks, instead of a current, high dollar star like Ryan Newman for his second car at Stewart-Haas?”

And, we conclude our talks over at Bruce’s Bits ‘n’ Pieces, where the question was posed, “With Tony Stewart acting out over in USAC, what’s that about? I thought he had gotten a grip on his outbursts? Do you think the stress of starting up a new team might be getting to him?”

Image details: Super Bowl XLII served by picapp.com

That’s right, folks, arguably the most talented Wide Receiver playing in the National Football League has decided to make a major multi-million dollar business decision, and it’s got NASCAR written all over it. Randy Moss, star WR for the New England Patriots, announced this past Tuesday the official formation of Moss Motorsports, LLC and his intent for the team to race a partial schedule in the Craftsman Truck Series as early as in the second half of this year, with a full-time schedule on his radar for 2009.

With sponsorship and personnel to be announced at a later date, Moss admitted that it would probably make more sense for the organization to attempt to find a driver with a veteran status that can get them into Victory Lane as quickly as possible, rather than attempting to build a team from the ground up centered around an unproven talent as many other race teams have attempted. Moss does not currently have anyone in mind, though, but is already scouting the market to see who will be available.

In terms of sponsorship, this is likely to be an area that Moss should find very little resistance. Aside from being one of the most marketable athletes in professional sports, the single season receptions record holder has purchased several local businesses, and has aligned himself with a slew of others. Though some of these companies may not necessarily serve as a full-time primary sponsor for his team, Moss does believe that these businesses will be delighted at any opportunities they may have to reach out to a new audience through this avenue. To help expedite matters, he has also contracted out with Integrity Sports Marketing LLC, one of the leading marketing companies for NASCAR.

Something that many of you may not know already, is that this is not the first venture in the racing world for Moss. He has been involved with sponsorship for local dirt track racing, and has also served as an ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School. And, as we all know, he is certainly not the first person from the NFL to throw their hat into the NASCAR arena. A few years ago, hall of fame Quarterbacks, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, teamed together to form Hall of Fame Racing which they later sold towards the end of 2007. Oh, and it’s rumored that a former head coach by the name of Joe Gibbs may have something to do with the sport as well.

Moss told the media on Tuesday, “I am by nature a very competitive person and this is an outlet for me to compete at another level. There are some pretty awesome challenges in building a program like this from the ground up, but I am looking forward to it.”

The addition of Randy Moss to NASCAR’s roster is certain to be viewed as a positive step for the sport as it continues to evolve and reach out in their diversity programs. In the last few years, NASCAR has has already added drivers with immense international popularity, such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti, and just earlier this year Chrissy Wallace signed a deal in the truck series that is expected to draw a larger female audience. This could prove valuable in their search for an untapped urban fanbase.

For more opinions and insight on this topic, please be sure to read Moss Motorsports to Hit NASCAR Tracks Running over at Full Throttle.

Last September, Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jeff Moorad joined a group that bought controlling interests of Hall of Fame Racing from its original owners, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach. Now, with NASCAR heading to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend, the dual-sports team owner is striving to bring his two products together.

On Wednesday, Cup Series star and HOF Racing driver of the no. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry, J.J. Yeley, drove his car out of the right field bullpen and along the warning track at Chase Field in Arizona. This Saturday night during the Sprint Cup Series’ running of the Subway Fresh Fit 500, Yeley will also feature the Diamondbacks’ “10th Anniversary” logo along his wheel wells. Drivers from at least eight different NASCAR teams will also attend the games throughout the weekend as honorary guests of the Diamondback organization.

Moorad is fairly new to the NASCAR world himself, but his partner and COO of the Diamondbacks’ organization, Tom Garfinkel, was the Executive Vice President for five years at Chip Ganassi Racing before leaving the organization in 2006 to pursue his opportunities in the MLB. With racing still in his heart, however, he joined Moorad in the HOF business venture in purchasing ownership of the race team.

In Other News:
- With all the mumbling and grumbling that’s taken the garage area by storm every week following NASCAR’s trips to the mile and a half oval tracks, Lowe’s Motor Speedway president, “Humpy” Wheeler, has asked the NASCAR commission to incorporate a testing session at Lowe’s sometime prior to the running of the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 in May. Wheeler is determined to deliver exciting races in both events next month that can appeal to both the fans and the drivers.

- Officials at Firestone have recently expressed their interest in taking over as NASCAR’s premier tire supplier should Goodyear pull out from the sport, though Goodyear’s contract is good through the 2012 season. Firestone Executive Director, Al Speyer, stated, “There’s a lot of people in our organization that would love to be running NASCAR. Our engineers can do a very good job there.”