Riley to start NASCAR team.

Bill and Bob Riley, the men behind the currently dominant Riley Grand Am chassis and many other successful projects are set to move into the world of NASCAR racing next year.

In conjunction with former Robert Yates Racing GM Eddie D'Hondt and sportscar veteran Jim Matthews, Riley Technologies will begin running the Busch and Nextel Cup Series next season under the Riley D'Hondt Motorsport banner, possibly with the new Toyota Camry chassis.

Based out of Mooresville, North Carolina, RDM will be fully operational by the 2007 season, with an expected two teams in the Busch Series, as well as a Cup Series team competing in as many as five Nextel Cup "Car of Tomorrow" events.

"We're ideally going to start off with three teams, two Busch Series and one part-time Nextel Cup team in 2007," said D'Hondt. "Right now we don't know to what extent each of these teams will participate in the 2007 season - as sponsorship unfolds, we will revise our schedules. RDM's goal is to become a Nextel Cup Series powerhouse within five years, with up to four teams in contention for the Nextel Cup championship."

"I've wanted to get involved with NASCAR racing as a team principal for quite some time, and have been waiting for the right opportunity to come up," said Bill Riley. "RDM is that right opportunity, with the combination of Eddie's NASCAR mind and Riley Technologies' extensive knowledge of race car engineering and manufacturing."

Matthews will assist the team with business matters and lend his road-racing experience to RDM's driver roster as needed.

"We wanted to create a motorsports organisation without compromise, with a strong emphasis on engineering and technology that's not only geared correctly for today's environment, but will be a dominant force in the future," said D'Hondt. "Together Bill and I have had enough experience of all types with numerous racing organisations, as managers and owners, to know what works and what doesn't. RDM is set up to succeed from the get-go."