Full Throttle

Ask.com CEO Jim Safka talked about his company’s partnership with NASCAR as the official search engine of NASCAR, and it’s sponsorship of the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford driven by former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte.

Hall of Fame Racing owner Tom Garfinkel discussed the team’s partnership with Yates Racing and the signing of Bobby Labonte to drive the No. 96 Ask.com Ford.

Tom Garfinkel (ON HALL OF FAME RACING’S STRUGGLES): “Well I think the buck stops with me. Our performance, our results last year weren’t what we expected. Jeff [Moorad] and I knew when we came into this sport that it was going to take time.

We had no illusions that we were going to come in right away and take the sport by storm on the race track. Certainly the results were more disappointing than we had expected. But we think now we have a model that will help us improve our competitive position in the sport and continue to grow over time.

“We had an engineering department and [Joe Gibbs Racing] had an engineering department. We didn’t really share information. Equipment changed on their end and we were trying to figure it out as we went along, as opposed to being part of the development process. There were a lot of things there that you could see. Qualifying at Daytona and Talladega, for example, we were .600 sec. off the Gibbs’ cars.

As you know at those racetracks it’s largely car and horsepower. We enjoyed our relationship with Gibbs but I think that we inherited a model that was built three or four years ago when the sport was a lot different, economically, technically and a lot of different ways. Again, we knew it would take time we think now we put ourselves in a position to be more competitive.”

(ON IF THE TECHNICAL ALLIANCE IS WHY THEY ALIGNED WITH YATES): “It was part of it. I think there is going to be more seamless integration in how we work together and the things that we do. In a lot of ways Max [Jones] is going to be running the team. I’m perfectly comfortable with that and thrilled with it. I’d rather not fly back and decide who the right rear tire changer is going to be and allow Max to use his expertise to do those things.

“With Bobby behind the wheel, with Roush/Yates engines, with being integrated into Yates in a more seamless way we think it will help us be more competitive.”

ON WHEN HE FIRST STARTED TALKING TO BOBBY LABONTE

“To be honest, this situation with Bobby came through pretty quickly. Really Max Jones deserves the credit for getting Bobby on board. I was busy getting all the sponsor stuff lined up and Max really deserves the credit. We had a couple of other options and Bobby became available at the last minute and Max moved on it quickly.”

Bobby Labonte, No. 96 Ask.com Ford (ON HIS NEW HOME AT YATES):

“This was an opportunity that was secure and competitive. I knew that would be the place I needed to be.”

WHAT CHANGED TO MAKE YOU CHOOSE YATES OVER OTHER TEAMS?

“I’m not sure. I think it would make for a sitcom, TV show, horror movie and drama all in one. It was kind of wild. Maybe over some period of time I could tell you, but not right now. The things I learned out of this whole deal after talking to Chip [Ganassi] is that I respect him way more. What a neat guy.

“I know [Yates'] goals are to win. Win poles, win races, top 12s, and make the Chase. I think all of it is desirable and all of it is attainable. We just have to go out there and prove it. It’s there you just have to make it all happen.

WERE YOU AWARE OF THE PETTY MERGER WITH GEM BEFORE IT WAS ANNOUNCED?

“I knew that they were going to do that, but it was when I was getting ready to get my exit papers. That could have been something that happened with me. I signed a four-year contract with [Petty]. It was heavy baggage for them. It was best to part ways and go on. It was better for me to reset my buttons and start over. The baggage that I had wasn’t what they needed.”