Hall of Fame Racing quickly passing other new teams

	The members of the Hall of Fame Racing team (from left: driver Terry Labonte, crew chief Philippe Lopez, driver Tony Raines, owner Troy Aikman and managing partner Bill Saunders) show off their new car. Amy Conn-Gutierrez/Getty Images

The runaway success story of 2006 is a surprise.

Forget Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Forget all the drivers at the top of the pack. 2006's biggest winner is a team that has only finished in the top 20 once.

For the most part, juggernauts rule NASCAR. These multi-car teams are rich in history, almost all formed before Gordon won his first NASCAR title. You know the names, because they are NASCAR: Childress, Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, Penske, Yates, etc. If you count Chip Ganassi Racing as one of these -- it was, after all, built upon Felix Sabates' old team -- then the new squads of the past 10 years have done almost nothing.

Yet Hall of Fame Racing, the first-year Nextel Cup team owned by a couple of ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks, has been decent.

No, the No. 96 team isn't great, not even good. Maybe not even solid. But so far, it has finished races. That in itself is almost a miracle. But then again, maybe fans expect miracles from guys like Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

NASCAR ace Terry Labonte started the first five races of the year for the new team. He finished 17th at Daytona, 34th in California and ended with three finishes between 22nd and 27th. Tony Raines has taken over for the rest of the year, finishing 21st and 24th in his first two races.

The team is 29th in the owner standings, which is good enough to assure them a starting spot in future races.

Want to put Hall of Fame Racing in perspective?

The majority of teams formed in the past 10 years haven't even been able to field a car on a regular basis. A few of these include Kirk Shelmerdine Racing, Front Row Motorsports, R&J Racing, Arnold Motorsports, Victory in Jesus Racing, Hover Motorsports, Furniture Row Racing and Peak Performance Motorsports.

Here are the top seven teams that have been formed in the past decade. Only one, DEI with Dale Jr. in 2004, has been a serious title threat. Kahne, currently third in the points, might help Evernham Motorsports become the second.