J. J. Yeley
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| Born: | October 5, 1976 (age 30) | |
| Birthplace: |  Phoenix, Arizona |
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| Awards: | 1997 USAC Sprint Rookie of the Year
2001, 2003 USAC Sprint champion 2002, 2003 USAC Silver Crown champion 2003 USAC "Triple Crown" winner 2002, 2003 non-winged driver of the year from the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame 2003 USAC Midget champion |
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| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #18 - Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| 2006 NEXTEL Cup Position: | 29th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 29th - 2006 | |
| First Race: | 2004 Pop Secret 500 (California) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 3 | 0 |
| NASCAR Busch Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #1 - Phoenix Racing | |
| First Race: | 2004 Sam's Town 300 (Las Vegas) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 38 | 3 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| First Race: | 2004 Line-X Spray-On Truck Bedliners 200 (Michigan) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All stats current as of January 28, 2007. | ||
Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J.J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is a NASCAR racecar driver from Phoenix, Arizona. He currently drives the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs in the NEXTEL Cup Series, and the #1 Miccosukee Indian Gambling Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing in the Busch Series.
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[edit] 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 National Sprint Car Series despite starting relatively few races.
In 1998, Yeley competed in four Indy Racing League (IRL) races, including the Indianapolis 500. 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, Jr.
Yeley also raced in the IRL in 2000 in an underfunded effort with McCormack Motorsports, 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 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 Trip (1988) and Jay Drake (2000).
[edit] NASCAR
As had Stewart, Yeley also signed with Joe Gibbs Racing, starting 17 of 34 races in the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series and achieving 4 top-10 finishes. In that year, he also made two starts in the NEXTEL Cup #11 car and competed in the IROC series. [1] Yeley drove the full season in 2005 in Gibbs' #18 car, posting twelve top-ten finishes and ending the season 11th in points.After the departure of Jason Leffler who drove the #11 car in the Nextel Cup series, Yeley, Busch Series teammate Denny Hamlin, and Terry Labonte split the remaining races. Yeley drove 4 races, Labonte, and Hamlin drove the final 7. Hamlin was named to drive the #11 Fed Ex car for the 2006 season. Bobby Labonte made his announcement in November that he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. On November 12, at Phoenix International Raceway, Yeley was announced as the new driver for the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet.
Yeley ran full seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing in both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch series in 2006. He drove the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet in the NEXTEL Cup series, and the #18 Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet in the Busch Series. Yeley's best NEXTEL Cup finishes of 2006 came at California Speedway and Loudon, where he finished 8th; his best Busch Series finish came on June 17 at Kentucky Speedway. Yeley finished his 2006 season 5th in the Busch Series points standings with 3 poles, 9 top 5's, and 22 top 10's.
Yeley was involved in an incident with driver Mark Martin at the Lowes Motor Speedway near the end of the 2006 season. Martin, who had pitted previously and was on much better tires, was closing in on Yeley near the entrance to pit lane when Yeley suddenly moved into his path. The two crashed, ending Martins race and severely hurting his championship chances. Yeley stated that he had been waving, a sign he was pitting, and had dropped to the bottom of the track (a standard procedure) when his car pushed up from the bottom of the track in the corner, making it appear that he wasn't pitting. Martin claimed he saw no sign that Yeley was entering the pits. Robby Gordon, the other driver involved in the crash, later told reporters that he had seen Yeley waving and knew that he was pitting. Martin and Yeley shared the blame for violent wreck.
Yeley will continue to drive the Joe Gibbs Racing #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Yeley will also run in the Busch Series full=time behind the wheel of the Phoenix Racing #1 Miccosukee Indian Gaming Chevrolet.
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[edit] External link
| Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Nextel Cup Drivers | Denny Hamlin (#11) | J. J. Yeley (#18) | Tony Stewart (#20) |
| Busch Series drivers | Aric Almirola (#18)/(#20) | Brad Coleman (#18) | Kevin Conway (#18) |
| Driver development program Drivers | Marc Davis, Joey Lagano |
| Partnerships and Affiliations | Hall of Fame Racing |
| Other | Joe Gibbs | J. D. Gibbs | Coy Gibbs |
