FORT WORTH, Texas — Troy Aikman knew it would take time to build a winning team in NASCAR. Still, it's difficult for the Hall of Fame quarterback to accept marginal success.

"I'm guarded about saying, well if we can be in the top 25 or the top 20 at the end of the season, we'd really be pleased," Aikman said Thursday. "Because we'd like to win. That certainly is the objective."

Remember, before Aikman won three Super Bowl championships with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s, he went through a 1-15 season when he lost all 11 of his starts. So he's realistic.

Hall of Fame Racing is off to a respectable start in its inaugural season, at 29th in owners points. The team makes its Texas debut this weekend.

Aikman co-owns the team with Roger Staubach, the fellow Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Cowboys to their other Super Bowl titles in the 1970s.

"What I knew coming in has only been reinforced, is how competitive this sport is, and how much of a disadvantage a startup team is under," Aikman said. "But I do think we're going to continue to do better."

Terry Labonte's past champion provision (two-time Cup champion) ensured that Hall of Fame got in each of the first five races. That included the season-opening Daytona 500 after NASCAR found an unapproved carburetor during qualifying, and two other races when the car didn't qualify on speed.

Tony Raines took over as planned last week in the sixth race at Martinsville. Raines qualified 12th and finished 21st, running a conservative race on the short track.

"Knowing how we ran early in the race and how I think we could have run, I was disappointed," Raines said. "But at the same time, I went there knowing I was going to race for a finish. I didn't race anybody."

By keeping the No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet in one piece at Martinsville and staying in the top 35 in owners points, Hall of Fame Racing is guaranteed a spot for the Nextel Cup race closest to where the former quarterbacks starred on the field and the home of the primary sponsor.

The Samsung/RadioShack 500 is Sunday. Qualifying is Friday.

Aikman and Staubach may be back on "home" turf, but they know they're in an entirely different venue.

Hall of Fame Racing is a long way from being as popular as teams with drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman — whose car numbers prevented the quarterbacks' team from using either of their jersey numbers. So Nos. 8 and 12 were multiplied for 96.

"I do believe that the Texas NASCAR fan is probably a Cowboys fan," Aikman said. "That doesn't necessarily mean that 96 is the car they're rooting for."

Aikman and Staubach got into NASCAR with realistic expectations as a single-car startup team. They wanted to do things the right way.

Three years elapsed between the time they decided to put together a team and when they finally put a car on the track this season. In that time, they formed a partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing for engines, equipment and technical help, as well as a 40,000-square-foot shop in North Carolina, and found a Texas-based primary sponsor.

Raines, a journeyman who has never won a Nextel Cup or Busch race, will complete the schedule, except for two road races that Labonte will run.

The 42-year-old Raines has only one top-10 finish in his 55 Nextel Cup starts, but was the Busch Series top rookie in 1999. He has won four NASCAR Craftsman Truck races, including 1997 in Texas.

He knows Texas could be the most hectic weekend.

"To me, it's like a ramp up. This is the high point," Raines said. "Get past Texas and as a team and as a driver, we'll be able to develop on racing and developing a team. ... Just coming out of the gate, get through Texas in good shape and the rest, I think, would be a breeze."

Labonte drove the No. 96 to three top-25 finishes. The best was 17th at Daytona, and he finished no worse than 34th.

"Texas Terry" also is racing this weekend, the first of 10 races he'll run in the No. 44 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. The last will be at Texas in November to wrap up his Nextel Cup career.

"He's really tried to help this team along. We talked a lot those first five races and I gained a lot of knowledge for him," Raines said. "It might be a little harder to get some tips from him now that he's driving the Hendrick car."