John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

Randy Moss heads into a new sport with lofty aspirations.

Two-time series champion Tony Stewart, who is exploring his own ownership opportunities, believes Moss can be successful.

“A guy’s not going to take an undertaking like this unless he’s going to give it 100 percent,” Stewart said. “A guy like Randy isn’t going to make a commitment like this unless he’s really passionate about this and he wants to be successful.”

And veteran Jeff Burton isn’t sure the financial end of it is going to be that difficult so long as Moss starts small. But a strained economy could make it hard for Moss to find success.

“You’ve got to have a lot of money, but at the truck level, you don’t have to be Bill Gates kind of rich,” Burton said. “So there’s still an opportunity for investment by young owners and Randy’s an example of that. Obviously, Randy’s made a lot of money playing football, but he would have a tough time going and buying an NFL football team.

“He can get into this sport at the truck level without near the investment, but it’s a tough time for anybody. The economic status we have today in our country is really tough and the sponsorship game is really hard right now, so it’s a tough time to try to break in.”

Moss also enters at a time when NASCAR is fighting allegations of racial and sexual discrimination and harassment by a former official who has filed a $225 million suit against the sanctioning body. Mauricia Grant, who is black, claims she was fired for complaining about the way she was treated.

Moss avoided entering the race debate Thursday, but said the color of his skin had absolutely no bearing on his decision and he doesn’t plan to be a poster boy for NASCAR diversity.

“I am an African-American, and I am a businessman,” he said. “When it comes to race, I don’t really see race as a factor. I think a lot of people do, but I don’t. A lot of people talk about race in NASCAR, I think it’s a lot of negative, a lot of hatred.

“There’s not a role to play, it’s just being real. If that’s the cards or the hand being presented to me, fine. I am not really jumping into NASCAR just because of the color of my skin. I am jumping into NASCAR because of the love and passion that I have to win.”