J. J. Yeley

JJ Yeley (b. October 5, 1976), is an American racecar driver from Phoenix, Arizona (real name: Christopher Beltram Hernandez Yeley).

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 USAC National Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year Award despite only starting a miniscule amount of races.

In 1998, he took on the challenge of competing in the Indy Racing League Indy Car Series. Yeley competed in four races with one top-10 finish to his credit. The top-10 placing he earned was at the 82nd running of the Indianapolis 500 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 returned to the IRL in 2000 in an underfunded effort with McCormack Motorsports, but ultimately returned to the more friendlier confines of USAC racing.

Yeley picked up right where he left off, winning the 2001 and 2003 National Sprint, the 2002 and 2003 Silver Crown, and 2003 National Midget Series titles.

He picked up the championship in all three of USAC's top divisions, becoming only the second driver to ever accomplish the feat. Tony Stewart was the first to pull off the "Triple Crown" in 1995.

Ironically, Tony Stewart was the owner of the Sprint and Silver Crown cars that Yeley used to win the championship with. The midget that Yeley piloted that year (Steve Lewis #9) was also the same car owner Stewart won the midget title for in his own "Triple Crown" year. Yeley was also signed to the same team that Tony Stewart is employed with (Joe Gibbs Racing) and got his first career opportunity to qualify for a NASCAR Nextel Cup event in 2005 when Stewart was injured.

As of 2005, Yeley is the driver of the number 18 Vigoro / Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series.