With teams falling by the wayside and others merging to save their sinking ships, Tommy Baldwin believes now is the time to go racing in the Cup Series. The 2002 Daytona 500 winning crew chief announced Tuesday his newest endeavor, Tommy Baldwin Racing. The one-car operation will field Toyotas, with engines being supplied from Arrington Manufacturing, will attempt to run the entire 2009 Sprint Cup Series schedule.

"With tough economic times upon us, the timing for starting this team is right,'' Baldwin explained in a statement. "Our overhead is low and we have a great group of talented mechanics and specialists to choose from. We can offer sponsors the chance to get into NASCAR Sprint Cup racing at a fraction of the costs, without compromising on-track performance, due to our low overhead.''

While the team intends to attempt to run the full 36-race schedule, neither a sponsor nor a driver for the new team were announced.

Optimistic his new team can make the cut, Baldwin hopes to capitalize on a struggling market and bring back a bit of the independent spirit that has been missing in the NASCAR ownership ranks for some time now.

"We are thankful for the opportunity NASCAR offers as we are able to prepare our own car to compete in one of the nation's top sporting events,'' Baldwin said. "That's what makes NASCAR so different from the other major sports. It's still attainable to be an owner, if you are willing to put the work in and I'm no stranger to hard work.''

Be sure to check back to HardcoreRaceFans.com for further developments on the new Tommy Baldwin Racing and for all of your racing needs.