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J.J. Yeley
| Name: |
J.J. Yeley |
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| Birthdate: |
October 5, 1976 |
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| Birthplace: |
Phoenix, Arizona |
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| Resides: |
Charlotte, NC |
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| Married: |
Kristen |
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| Children: |
Faith Anne |
The old adage of “the apple doesn’t fall far from the
tree” is generally used to describe a child whose characteristics have become
similar to those of his parents.
For second-generation racer J.J. Yeley, driver of the famed No. 18 Interstate
Batteries Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), the saying might be the perfect
way to describe how his upbringing helped him climb the auto racing ladder.
The son of seven-time Arizona Midget Racing Association and two-time World of
Outlaws midget champion “Cactus” Jack Yeley, J.J. attended his first race at
three weeks old and spent most of his childhood traveling throughout the West
Coast and Midwest with his father.
“When I was probably seven or eight years old, my parents would drop me off in
the grandstands,” said J.J. “I had to learn how to count money at a young
age so I could buy something if I needed to. I’d go up in the grandstands by
myself and maybe find some other kids to play with, watch the races, and make my
way back down to the pit area afterward. I’d just find some local boy in the
grandstands, sit and talk with him and tell him my dad was a racer.”
Not only did J.J. watch his father, but he became an active participant in his
father’s race team at a very young age. He gained valuable experience and saw
his father’s work ethic first-hand – a trait that benefits him to this day
during his sophomore season in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.
“My dad didn’t make me work, but he pushed me to,” said J.J. “I spent a
lot of time in the garage helping him as a kid and learning the ins and outs of
race cars. Learning how to put bolts on, how to tighten them, how to take them
off. I guess for a long time he taught me everything he knew.
“As a kid, even being 12 years old, I remember going to the race track and
sneaking in the pit area. I’d groove race tires and do things that you saw
adults doing because I’d been doing it so long with my dad. Even though I was
a kid, working on race cars was something I did well even at a very young
age.”
That theme of accomplishing goals that were far beyond his age has prevailed
throughout Yeley’s life. The Phoenix native began his racing career at age 10,
where he competed in the Arizona Quarter Midget Racing Association. With help
from a forged birth certificate, Yeley was able to start racing midgets at age
14. When he turned 16, Yeley became the youngest driver ever to receive a United
States Auto Club (USAC) license.
“I thought it was normal,” said Yeley of his young racing start. “When I
started I was only 14, but on paper, I had to be 16. I was always around adults
and always had to be more mature than other kids my age. I never thought much
about having to race against adults or people that had more experience than me.
My dad worked very hard at the time to make sure I had the right equipment to go
out and win races. Since then, I really haven’t had to think much about it.
I’ve just been able to go out there and drive a race car.”
After collecting his first win in 1995 in a non-wing sprint car at Silver Dollar
Speedway in Chico, Calif., and becoming the youngest driver in Sprint Car Racing
Association (SCRA) history to do so, he continued his winning ways in SCRA in
1996 and as a USAC rookie in 1997.
Then in 1998 at the young age of 21, a golden opportunity came about via the IRL
IndyCar Series. After debuting in an Indy car at his hometown track – Phoenix
International Raceway – he went to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to became the
youngest driver (at the time) to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Yeley started
the race in 13th and notched an impressive ninth-place finish.
While Yeley ran in three more IRL events that season, funding didn’t
materialize to continue racing in the IRL, so he focused on his budding USAC
career. That focus paid off as Yeley won his first USAC Sprint Car Series
championship in 2001.
Yeley followed up his USAC Sprint Car championship with a USAC Silver Crown
championship in 2002, but nothing would prepare him for one of the most
impressive seasons in USAC history. In 2003, Yeley reeled off an amazing 24 USAC
wins, breaking the single-season record set by racing legend A.J. Foyt who won
19 races during the 1961 season.
In addition, Yeley became only the second driver in USAC history to win the
“Triple Crown” by capturing the Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown
championships in a single season, joining JGR teammate Tony Stewart as the only
other driver to accomplish that feat (1995).
While the 2003 season was a magical one, Yeley will tell you that 2002 is the
year that meant the most to him.
“To me, 2002 was probably more special than 2003,” said Yeley. “I won one
championship and finished second and third in the other two divisions. 2002
helped me prepare during the off-season to make 2003 possible. Everyone would
say that 2003 was the greatest year because we won all the races and broke all
the records. If it hadn’t been for the success I had in 2002 and how close we
came to achieving the Triple Crown, I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard to
prepare more in the off-season for the next year. When 2003 came around, I was
able to take care of the little problems and set myself up to win all three
series.”
The success of the two previous seasons helped catapult Yeley into the
limelight, and Joe Gibbs Racing took notice. In 2004, Yeley was tapped to drive
a part-time NASCAR Busch Series schedule for JGR. He competed in 17 races that
season, earning four top-10s with a best finish of sixth at Kansas Speedway.
The biggest break of Yeley’s career came in 2005 at Chicagoland Speedway.
During a Nextel Cup practice session, JGR teammate Stewart became injured after
crashing his primary car in practice, and on very short notice, Yeley was called
upon to resume practice and qualify the No. 20 team’s backup car.
Not only did he practice the car and qualify a very respectable 13th, he also
showed everyone at JGR that he was ready to take on the challenge of NASCAR’s
top series. As a result, in November 2005 Yeley was selected to drive the No. 18
Interstate Batteries Chevrolet full-time beginning with the 2006 Nextel Cup
season.
“Being able to jump into Tony’s car without any practice showed JGR that I
could run with the best of them,” said Yeley. “I had the confidence in
myself and the team. I just needed the opportunity to go out and do it
full-time. That helped springboard me into the No. 18 Interstate Batteries
car.”
Yeley competed in 36 Nextel Cup races during his rookie year, notching two
season-best eighth-place finishes – California Speedway in February and New
Hampshire International Speedway in September. But despite running well at most
every track on the circuit, the No. 18 Interstate Batteries team did not have
the season it is accustomed to.
“Last year didn’t exactly go the way any of us wanted,” said Yeley of his
rookie season. “I guess I had a pretty steep learning curve. We had a lot of
tire issues and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some stuff you
chalk up to bad luck, but the problem is that you can’t chalk all of it up to
bad luck. Sometimes there was a mistake that I made that put me in a position to
get in some kind of trouble.
“The most important thing is that I learned from my mistakes. That’s why
I’m looking forward to 2007 – learning from the mistakes I made last year
and turning them into a positive for this year.”
For this grassroots racer, driving in NASCAR’s top series for one of
NASCAR’s top teams has fulfilled a lifelong dream so far-fetched that it never
even entered Yeley’s mind while he piloted open-wheel cars on dirt tracks
across the country.
“I never dreamt that I’d be racing in NASCAR or even get the opportunity to
drive an Indy car and race in the Indianapolis 500,” said Yeley. “When I was
16 or 17 years old and racing Sprint Cars, for me that was the coolest thing in
the world. All I knew was that I was a Saturday night racer that wanted to race.
I’m grateful that I get to do what I love for a living.”
In addition to racing, Yeley puts a lot of time and energy into charity work.
Thanks in part to being the parent of a one-year-old daughter, Yeley has
developed a soft spot for children’s charities.
In addition to participating in several fund raising opportunities for the
Victory Junction Gang Camp and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in
Memphis, Tenn., Yeley will host the first ever “J.J Yeley No. 18 Drives for
Kids” golf classic in his hometown of Phoenix in March 2007. The PIR hosted
golf classic is designed to give back to the local community with all proceeds
from the tournament going to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Yeley, 30, resides in Charlotte, N.C., with wife Kristen and their daughter
Faith.
   
more info on I.I. go to www.jjyeley.com
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