J. J. Yeley
Template:NASCAR current driver
Christopher Beltram Hernandez (J. J.) Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is a NASCAR racecar driver from Phoenix, Arizona.
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.
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.
In 2005, Yeley stepped in to qualify the #20 NEXTEL Cup car for Stewart who was injured. Yeley also drove the final four races of the NEXTEL Cup season in the #11 car after the departure of regular driver Jason Leffler.
In 2006, Yeley ran full seasons, still with Joe Gibbs Racing, in both the NEXTEL Cup and Busch series, driving the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet in the NEXTEL Cup series, and the #18 Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet in the Busch Series. A quarter of the way through the 2006 season, Yeley's best NEXTEL Cup finish came at California Speedway, where he finished 5th; his best Busch Series finish came on June 17 at Kentucky Speedway.
Yeley was involved in an incident with chaser Mark Martin at the Lowes Motor Speedway near the end of the 2006 season. Mark Martin, who had pitted previously and was on much better tires, was closing in on Yeley 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 NASCAR procedure.) However, his car pushed away 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 stated that he had seen Yeley waving.
