CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Hall of Fame Racing made its first hire Tuesday when it tabbed Philippe Lopez to build the NASCAR team owned by former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

Lopez was hired as a crew chief, and will be in charge of getting the Nextel Cup team ready to debut next season.

"My first priority is to get the shop up and running," Lopez said. "We are working very closely with Joe Gibbs Racing. That will give us a great advantage right from the start.

"You can't put a price on what they will be bringing to the table as this team gets ready to go Nextel Cup racing. We are quickly getting the shop up and running, sourcing the equipment that we need and hiring the people that we want."

The team has yet to hire a driver for the car that will be sponsored by Texas Instruments.

Lopez, who was most recently working in the research and development department at Richard Childress Racing, was one of the first hires the late Dale Earnhardt made when he formed his Cup team.

Hall of Fame Racing also hired Len Batycki as vice president of marketing and John Fuller as comptroller.