For the first time, maybe in history as we know it, a Yates racing team is at Daytona without Robert Yates.  Yates gave or sold (it's not clear) the team that had won so many races and a championship to his son Doug after the 2007 season.  The once powerful Ford team has fallen on hard times because of old methods and a lack of funding, but the Yates name is now represented by Robert's son Doug and Max Jones, formerly the main man at Roush Racing.

"Being down here without my dad is really weird -- first time ever," Yates said Tuesday morning during a lull in Sprint Cup Series testing. "I find myself wondering what he'd do and how he'd do things."

In fact, Doug Yates found himself calling his mother not knowing his father was wondering what was going on in testing.  That's what this sport does to you.  You can run and hide, but you can never get away.

"He misses being here," Doug chuckled. "But he knows he's had his day and it's time for guys like myself and Max to have our day."

Yates aligned with Jack Roush's team late last year and moved to a site near the Roush facilities to make things easier, but will the performance improve enough so that the new venture can survive?  Mars, the candy powerhouse had put up the money to fund Robert Yates Racing last year, but the results were spotty at best and they moved on to another team.  Yates now has a website, www.sponsoryates racing.com, that is almost begging for support, but no one has yet to step up and offer the backing they need.  That has to worry the two young men in charge.

"We don’t have any sponsors at the moment, but we’re talking to a lot of people, Jones said.   "There are a lot of things to consider right now, but we’re not the first team to come to Daytona without sponsorship money.  With the organization that Doug and I have put together, and the drivers that we have, I believe that we’re really a strong candidate.  It’s not like we’ve got a rag-tag group of guys that we drug down here to Daytona.  This is a solid organization with great cars.  You can look at the speeds.  We’re not embarrassing ourselves, so I think it’s a great opportunity for somebody.”

The team, which sold the No. 88 to Hendrick Motorsports to accommodate Dale Earnhardt, Jr., has put Travis Kvapil in the famous No.28.  Whether or not that will attract sponsors is yet to be determined.  That number was once the domain of one Fred Lorenzen when he drove for Holman-Moody in the 1960's.  The legend of "Fearless Freddy" is well known, but current fans would remember the drivers in the car since the late Harry Ranier, the founder of the present team, began making headlines with the car.

Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker and others drove the No. 28 car to numerous victories, and much acclaim.  When Ranier sold the team to Yates, Davey Allison took over.  His untimely death put Ernie Irvan in the car and his injuries in a bad racing accident at Michigan International Speedway put Dale Jarrett in the car.  When Jarrett moved to the No. 88, which is now the domain of the junior Earnhardt, Jarrett took over the 88 with Ricky Rudd taking over the 28.  In all, 31 victories and a Daytona 500 are in the history of the number, something that Travis Kvapil, the newest driver in the seat of that car won't likely forget.

“I think there are a few numbers out there that are pretty meaningful and I feel honored that they’re giving me the opportunity to bring it back out," Kvapil said.  "Hopefully we can just have the success that the 28 has had in the past and be a contender and be up front with it.”

Kvapil scored a 7th fastest speed in Daytona's early testing and feels good about the car.

“So far, so good.  It’s a lot to learn for me with the new car and being out of Cup for a few years, but it’s exciting to be back.  Just getting out in the pack, you’re learning stuff every lap.  We’ve had decent speed, so I’m excited to go back home, regroup and check everything out as far as our data goes so we can come back strong in February.”

With the speed there and the new alignment with Jack Roush, the only piece of the puzzle missing is sponsorship.  With only a few weeks until the Daytona 500, Jones and Yates have to be concerned.

For these tests, the No. 28 car was painted black with red numerals.  You might call it spooky, but the intent was there.  Show people you are back with a car that has success in the past.  Jones did not move away from the fact that the team would compete with or without sponsorship.

"We realized when we decided to go do this that we were gonna need two sponsors, and I think if you come down here and perform well, there are gonna be a lot of opportunities, Jones said.  "We’ve talked to a lot of people, but I think you want to make sure you’re putting the right package together.  We’re in this thing for the long term and we’re in it to build relationships and build partnerships, so we just don’t want to take somebody and hang them on the car for the Daytona race.  That might end up having to happen if we can’t put the right package together with somebody, but whenever you’re talking to sponsors and you’re putting a team together, you’ve got to look at all your options and look at what you think best suits what your objectives are and what you’re planning on doing.  Our plan is to do this for a long time and build relationships, so we’re really talking to as many people as we can.”

Time will tell if the new Yates Racing will be successful, but one has to hope that they succeed.  With a legendary number and two young drivers, surely someone will back them and give them a chance.  Surely.