J. J. Yeley
Encyclopedia
Christopher Beltram Hernandez Yeley (born October 5, 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

) is a NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 driver. Nicknamed "J. J." (Jimmy/Jack; after his father and a close family friend), he is currently a competitor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving for Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is a team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partnership with Jimmy Means and restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, with Jenkins becoming the full team owner in 2005...

.

Open wheel

Yeley initially made a mark for himself in the world of auto racing when he took the Hoosier state by storm during the 1997 edition of Indiana Sprintweek. He won that series and captured the Rookie of the Year Award in the USAC
United States Automobile Club
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...

 National Sprint Car
Sprint car racing
Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....

 Series despite starting relatively few races.

In 1998, Yeley competed in four Indy Racing League (IRL) races, including the Indianapolis 500
1998 Indianapolis 500
The 82nd Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 24, 1998. This was the first Indianapolis 500 fully sanctioned by the Indy Racing League after the IRL relied on USAC to sanction the 1996–1997 races...

. His one top-10 finish in these four races was at Indianapolis, where he finished 9th despite a spin on the first turn of the first lap, which nearly collected eventual race winner Eddie Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...

, Jr.

Yeley also raced in the IRL in 2000 in an underfunded effort with McCormack Motorsports
McCormack Motorsports
McCormack Motorsports is a former Indy Racing League team owned by Dennis McCormack that operated from 1996 to 2001. Based in Avon, Indiana, the team debuted at the 1996 Indianapolis 500 with a car for Randy Tolsma, however, it failed to make the field. For the 1996-1997 season, the team used 3...

, but ultimately returned to USAC racing, picking up where he had left off by winning the 2001 and 2003 National Sprint, 2002 and 2003 Silver Crown, and 2003 National Midget Series titles.

His championships in all three of USAC's top divisions in 2003 made him only the second driver, after Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...

 in 1995, to achieve the "Triple Crown" in a single season. Stewart was, in fact, the owner of the Sprint and Silver Crown cars in Yeley's 2003 season; the Midget which Yeley drove in 2003, Steve Lewis' #9, had been driven by Stewart in 1995.

Yeley scored 24 USAC wins in his 2003 season, breaking the previous record of 19 set by A.J. Foyt in 1961 and later tied by Sleepy Tripp
Sleepy Tripp
Ron "Sleepy" Tripp is an American Hall of Fame midget car driver. Tripp got his nickname as a youth when he would fall asleep in his quarter midget car while waiting for his next race to start. -Midget car career:...

 (1988) and Jay Drake
Jay Drake
Jay Scott Drake is an American auto racing driver.-Racing career:Drake won the 1998 Turkey Night Grand Prix midget car race. Drake was the USAC National Sprint Car Champion in 2004. He also competed in 14 Indy Pro Series races in 2004 and 2005 with a best finish of third and finishing 9th in the...

 (2000).

NASCAR

As had Stewart, Yeley also signed with Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...

, starting 17 of 34 races in the 2004 NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Busch Series
Busch Series
The NASCAR Nationwide Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. It is promoted as NASCAR's "minor league" circuit, and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organization's "big leagues"; the Sprint Cup circuit...

 and achieving four top-10 finishes. In that year, he also made two starts in the NEXTEL Cup
NEXTEL Cup
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . The series was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series . While leasing its naming rights to R. J...

 #11 car and competed in the IROC
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions, better known as IROC, was a North American auto racing competition, promoted as an equivalent of an American All-Star Game or The Masters...

 series. Yeley drove the full season in 2005 in the NASCAR Busch Series for Gibbs' #18 car, posting twelve top-ten finishes and ending the season 11th in points. After the departure of Jason Leffler
Jason Leffler
Jason Leffler is a NASCAR driver from Long Beach, California. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks before moving to NASCAR's three major series...

, who drove the #11 car in the Nextel Cup series, Yeley, Busch Series teammate Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan "Denny" Hamlin is an American race car driver. Though originally born in Tampa, Florida, Hamlin was raised for most of his life in Chesterfield, Virginia. After racing in go-karts for a number of years, he worked his way up to Late Models by 2004 and signed a development contract...

, and Terry Labonte
Terry Labonte
Terrance Lee Labonte is a semi-retired NASCAR driver who occasionally drives in the Sprint Cup Series when called upon and is a two-time Winston Cup and IROC champion. He currently drives the #32 U.S. Chrome Ford for FAS Lane Racing. Labonte was introduced to the sport through his father, who had...

 split the remaining races. Yeley drove four races, Labonte and Hamlin drove the final seven. Hamlin was named to drive the #11 FedEx car for the 2006 season. Bobby Labonte
Bobby Labonte
Robert Alan "Bobby" Labonte is an American race car driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the #47 Kroger/Clorox/Kimberly-Clark/Kingsford/Reese Towpower Hitches Toyota Camry for JTG Daugherty Racing. He currently resides in Trinity, North Carolina. He is married to his wife...

 made his announcement in November that he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...

. On November 12, at Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...

, Yeley was announced as the new driver for the #18 Interstate Batteries
Interstate Batteries
Interstate Battery System of America, Inc., a.k.a. Interstate Batteries, is a privately owned company that markets automotive batteries manufactured by Johnson Controls through independent distributors to more than 200,000 automotive shops worldwide. The company is based in Dallas, Texas...

 Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

.

Yeley ran full seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing in both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series in 2006
2006 in NASCAR
The 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season started at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 12 with the Bud Shootout and ended on Sunday, November 19 with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup began with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 17 at New Hampshire...

. He drove the #18 Interstate Batteries
Interstate Batteries
Interstate Battery System of America, Inc., a.k.a. Interstate Batteries, is a privately owned company that markets automotive batteries manufactured by Johnson Controls through independent distributors to more than 200,000 automotive shops worldwide. The company is based in Dallas, Texas...

 Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 in the NEXTEL Cup series, and the #18 Vigoro
Vigoro
Vigoro is a sport like both cricket and baseball and has been mainly played by women. It is most popular in Australia.-History:The game was invented by Englishman John George Grant...

/Home Depot Chevrolet in the Busch Series. Yeley's best NEXTEL Cup finishes of 2006 came at California Speedway
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway is a two-mile , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. The track was also used for open wheel racing events until 2005. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and...

 and Loudon
New Hampshire International Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as an IndyCar weekend and the oldest motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic...

, where he finished 8th; his best Busch Series finish came on June 17 at Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...

. Yeley finished his 2006 season fifth in the Busch Series points standings with three poles, nine top-fives, and 22 top-10s.
His 2007 was filled with rumors about being released from Joe Gibbs racing. At the 2007 Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, formerly known as the World 600, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held each year at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend...

, Yeley scored a career high second place finish on a fuel gamble, with Casey Mears
Casey Mears
Casey James Mears is the driver of the #13 GEICO Toyota for Germain Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. He is a former winner of the Coca-Cola 600....

 actually scoring the victory. Exactly three weeks later, at Michigan
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...

, Yeley took his first career pole at the NEXTEL Cup level, beating Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He currently drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports....

 by one one thousandths of a second (.001). During the middle of the 2007 season Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...

 announced that his team would be switching to Toyota in 2008. Gibbs also announced that Yeley would not return for 2008. Gibbs ended up signing Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch, is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No...

 to drive the #18.

Yeley moved to Hall of Fame Racing
Hall of Fame Racing
Hall of Fame Racing was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing team principally owned by Jeff Moorad, Tom Garfinkel, and Tom Davin. The team was created as a joint venture between former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman...

, an affiliate of JGR, replacing Tony Raines
Tony Raines
Floyd Anthony Raines is an American race car driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the now defunct American Speed Association and 1999 Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series...

 in the #96 DLP Toyota. His struggles continued, as the team fell from being in the top 35 every week with Raines behind the wheel to struggling to make races on a weekly basis (the team's first DNQ came with Yeley behind the wheel).

On July 5, he performed an in-race switch into the #20 car for an ill Tony Stewart. He ran strong for most of the race but was collected in two crashes within the last five laps and ended with a 20th place finish. On August 6, 2008, Yeley was released from his contract to drive for Hall of Fame Racing
Hall of Fame Racing
Hall of Fame Racing was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing team principally owned by Jeff Moorad, Tom Garfinkel, and Tom Davin. The team was created as a joint venture between former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman...

, first by being replaced by P.J. Jones
P.J. Jones
P. J. Jones is a race car driver. He has raced in NASCAR, Indycar, IMSA GT, ALMS, and Champ Car. He is the son of racing legend Parnelli Jones, and brother of Page Jones.-Sprint Cup Series:...

 at Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...

, Nationwide Series driver and Hall of Fame Racing test driver Brad Coleman
Brad Coleman
Bradford Coleman is an American stock car driver. He was a high school graduate of Carlisle School.Coleman was discovered at an indoor karting center in Houston, TX by LeMans champion Price Cobb...

 at Michigan
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...

, and Ken Schrader
Ken Schrader
Kenneth Schrader is a second-generation race car driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country while driving part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series for his own Ken Schrader Racing. He also runs part time in the NASCAR Camping...

 for the remaining races. Yeley spent the rest of the season out of a ride. In 2009, he moved to the Camping World Truck Series, driving the #73 Chevrolet Silverado
Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado , is the latest line of full-size pickup trucks from General Motors.-History:...

 for Tagsby Racing. He was also named to take over the Mayfield Motorsports #41 Sprint Cup Series entry effective immediately following the indefinite suspension of owner/driver Jeremy Mayfield
Jeremy Mayfield
Jeremy Allen Mayfield is a former NASCAR driver who last competed in 2009 due to legal troubles and an indefinite suspension by NASCAR. Prior to 2009, Mayfield drove cars for the Sadler Brothers, T.W. Taylor, Cale Yarborough, Michael Kranefuss, Roger Penske, Ray Evernham, Bill Davis, and Gene Haas...

 due to a substance abuse violation on May 9, 2009.

Later in 2009, Yeley broke three cervical vertabrae during a crash in a USAC race.

Yeley drove at Daytona in 2010 for Daisy Ramirez Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. This was the team's debut and he finished a career-best 10th after starting 36th. Yeley was announced as the driver for the Whitney Motorsports
Whitney Motorsports
Whitney Motorsports is a NASCAR team that currently competes in the Sprint Cup Series. It is based in Harrisburg, North Carolina. They currently field the #46Red Line Oil/International Trucks Ford Fusion for Scott Speed and The #81 Ford Fusion for Scott Riggs....

 #46 Sprint Cup Series car on May 4, 2010. On May 7, he qualified the #46 into the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed the "Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition"...

. Yeley qualifed for nine of the fourteen races he attempted. At the Coke Zero 400, he finished a team-best 19th. Yeley also raced for Latitude 43 Motorsports
Latitude 43 Motorsports
Latitude 43 Motorsports is a NASCAR team currently competing in the Sprint Cup Series in 2010 and in 2011. They are fielding the #26 Ford driven by Boris Said and Bill Elliott. The team was started after Vermont businessman Bill Jenkins purchased the team from Roush Fenway Racing to satisfy...

 in Phoenix and Tommy Baldwin Racing
Tommy Baldwin Racing
Tommy Baldwin Racing is a NASCAR team based in Mooresville North Carolina. The team is owned by former crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr., son of late modified driver Tom Baldwin...

, plus drove for Richard Petty Motorsports in a relief role at Charlotte, replacing a sick Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #5 Farmers Insurance Group Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series....

.

Yeley raced his way in the 2011 Daytona 500 in the Gatorade Duels for Whitney Motorsports, a team that failed to qualify for the 2010 event. He finished 43rd in the event after a blown engine eleven laps into the race. At Loudon, Yeley drove the #38 Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is a team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partnership with Jimmy Means and restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, with Jenkins becoming the full team owner in 2005...

 entry in place of Travis Kvapil, who was unable to make the race due to his Truck Series commitments. He will run the remainder of the season in a fourth Front Row entry, the #55.

IndyCar results

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points
1998
1998 in IRL
The 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season was one of relative stability compared to the previous two seasons. For the first time the season consisted of a single and complete spring, summer, and fall like all other forms of motorsport. 15 drivers completed the entire 11 race schedule, twice as...

Sinden  
WDW
 
PHX
25
 
INDY
1998 Indianapolis 500
The 82nd Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 24, 1998. This was the first Indianapolis 500 fully sanctioned by the Indy Racing League after the IRL relied on USAC to sanction the 1996–1997 races...


9
 
TXS
19
 
NHM
23
 
DOV
 
CLT
 
PPI
 
ATL
25
 
TX2
 
LVS
32nd 50
2000
2000 in IRL
The 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series season was another season that saw a high level of parity as only one driver, champion Buddy Lazier, won more than a single race. It also saw the beginning of the jump from CART as Al Unser Jr. moved to the series full time and Chip Ganassi Racing came...

Byrd-McCormack  
WDW
 
PHX
 
LVS
 
INDY
2000 Indianapolis 500
The 2000 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28, 2000.-Recap:Chip Ganassi Racing became the first regular CART series team to break ranks and compete at Indianapolis since the CART/IRL split in 1996, entering 1996 CART series champion Jimmy Vasser and reigning...


 
TXS
 
PPI
 
ATL
17
 
KTY
15
 
TX2
25
27th 33

External links

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