When will professional athletes realize NASCAR ownership isn’t for them?

Randy Moss is set to be the latest pro star to dive into NASCAR, announcing this week his Moss Motorsports will compete in the Craftsman Truck Series the second half of this season and will run a full campaign next year. Good luck.

The skeptic in me has to ask why Moss thinks he may succeed where guys such as Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Julius Erving et al have failed? The idea of getting to ask Moss to comment on the NASCAR topic of the day will definitely have me rooting for him. Who wouldn’t want to see Moss and Jack Roush butt heads?

Anyway, Moss will learn, as the others did, that the only sure thing about starting a NASCAR team on any level is that you will lose money. Lots of it. Athletes of such greatness are used to success, making it nearly impossible for them to accept mediocrity on any level. The other sure thing about first-year teams is that they will fail. A lot.

Aikman said when he and Staubach formed Hall of Fame Racing that he was in it for the long haul, win or lose. They never made it to year three, though the team still exists under the ownership of Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jeffrey Moorad. Congratulations. At least there is something left of the team.

Unless Moss is bringing the Patriots and their money along with him, this too will soon fade away. Even in the truck series, money is the key. You have to spend big to hire a good crew chief, shop foreman, engineers and crew. Wait until Moss prices a seven-post shaker rig, an engine dyno or even a set of tires.

Either way, good luck, Randy. We need outspoken fellows like you in the sport. Patience and money — hope you have a lot of each. You’re going to need it.