J.J. Yeley - Memphis Express Facts

DID YOU KNOW?

J.J. Yeley will drive a special FedEx Express #18 Chevrolet this weekend in the Sam's Town 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park. Memphis is home to FedEx World Headquarters and over 800 FedEx employees will be in attendance for the race on Saturday.

As the Busch Series teams travel to Memphis this week, J.J. Yeley is 13th in the overall driver's standings. Yeley is just 43 points out of 12th, 87 points out of 11th and 115 points shy of 10th.

In last week's NASCAR Busch Series race at Charlotte, J.J. Yeley appeared well on his way to a career-best finish. While running third with nine laps to go, trailing only Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart, Yeley patiently waited for an opportunity to pass either or both drivers. However, before he had the chance, Stewart drove underneath Newman and got loose, spinning directly in front of Yeley, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. The cars collided and the damage to both cars forced the teams to retire from the race. Yeley was credited with a finish of 22nd.

This weekend will mark J.J. Yeley's first ever NASCAR race at Memphis, but he is certainly no stranger to the facility. Yeley has raced at Memphis Motorsports Park three times (1998-2000) in the USAC Silver Crown division, scoring a best finish of sixth in 2000.

This weekend, J.J. Yeley and his FedEx Express teammates will race Chassis #1850 in Saturday's Busch Series event at Memphis. The team used this chassis to finish ninth at Gateway and 20th at Darlington earlier in 2005. Last year, Yeley finished eighth at Nashville, ninth at Chicagoland and 11th at Kentucky with this particular chassis.

On Thursday at noon, J.J. Yeley will join other NASCAR drivers as they drive actual racecars through the Memphis downtown business district and down the cobblestones of Beale Street for the city's inaugural "Race Car Rumble." Yeley will drive a #11 FedEx Express Chevrolet in the parade, just like the Joe Gibbs Racing entry that races in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

QUOTES

Driver J.J. Yeley on FedEx's sponsorship of the #18 at Memphis - "Everyone on our #18 team is genuinely excited about having FedEx Express on our car this weekend at Memphis. They have become a tremendous supporter of Joe Gibbs Racing, and to watch their interest grow and now see their involvement in our Busch Series program is really special. We know there will be a huge contingent of FedEx employees and family members in attendance, so we're ready to put on a great show for them."

Driver J.J. Yeley on this week's race in Memphis- "This will be my first trip to Memphis in a stock car, but I've got some prior experience at the track from my USAC days, and I know that Jason Ratcliff and our FedEx Express crew will have a good car for me in the race. We've been up and down with our short track program this year, so we're ready to turn it around and put our FedEx Express Chevrolet up front at Memphis."