New W.VA team in works?

West Virginia fans could soon have their own NASCAR team to root for in the Nextel Cup Series. Four area businessmen from the Kanawha Valley have spent the past eight months developing a NASCAR team they hope will target the state's businesses and rabid fan base.

Jason Hager, Aaron Bowles, Denver McCallister and John Burdett, who work in the marketing and financial fields, developed relationships with NASCAR while working to sell retirement plans to team owners.

"One thing led to another and we started scratching our heads and said, ‘Let's give them a home team to root for,'" Burdett said.

The men's team, Revelocity Racing, has been assigned No. 73, but they are lobbying NASCAR to change to No. 35 for the order in which West Virginia was admitted to the union in 1863.

The team owners say they doubt they will be able to sell huge car sponsorships to local businesses, although they hope to attract them by offering other incentives. They have discussed packages ranging from $10,000 to 50,000 that would allow companies to get their logos on the truck hauler, placement on the team Web site or secure an appearance at a business by the car and driver.

"There's tons of ways to bring this to the local West Virginia communities," Hager said. "I think that's the big differentiator of what we're doing in the sport." More at Charleston Daily Mail