Almost home, Yeley gets sidelined by late wreck at Talladega; places 32nd

TALLADEGA, Ala. (Oct. 8, 2006) – Through much of Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, J.J. Yeley and the Interstate Batteries Racing team cleared hurdle after hurdle; seemingly positioning themselves for a top10-finish – or better.

But the last hurdle of the afternoon, a cut tire on the No. 18 Chevrolet less than 40 miles from the finish, could not be overcome. As Yeley slowed, he was hit from behind by fellow Raybestos® Rookie David Stremme. The impact sent Yeley sliding into the path of teammate Tony Stewart, triggering a five-car wreck. The No. 18 team did return Yeley to competition after repairs were made in the NASCAR garage area, giving him enough laps to finish 32nd in the final running order.

The race was won by Brian Vickers, who claimed the first NEXTEL Cup Series victory of his career. Stewart finished 22nd in the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin, driving the third Joe Gibbs Racing entry, finished 21st in the No. 11 FedEx Express Monte Carlo.

Through the first three-quarters of the race, Yeley and his crew had overcome adversity to keep themselves in contention for a good finish … not once, not twice but three times.

After starting 10th in the 43-car field, Yeley got kicked out of line and slipped all the way back to 28th in the first two laps. But he steadied himself and began picking his way back toward the front, returning to the top 15 by lap 25.

Following the first round of green-flag pit stops a short time later, Yeley lost contact with the all-important Talladega draft and was left to fend for himself while a pack of more than 30 competitors whistled around the mammoth 2.66-mile oval. Yeley eventually fell off the lead lap at the 165-mile mark. But he fought hard to hold onto whatever track position he could and got himself back on the lead lap less than 40 miles later as the beneficiary of NASCAR’s lap-back rule during the first caution of the afternoon.

When the rear bumper on Yeley’s No. 18 Chevrolet got pushed in after Ken Schrader bump-drafted him down the backstretch, shortly before the halfway mark of the race, the right-rear quarter panel also was dented. In the rush to repair the damage, change tires and fuel the car during a subsequent pit stop, the No. 18 team was penalized for having too many men over the wall. This forced Yeley to restart in 32nd place after the race’s second caution period.

In spite of these setbacks, Yeley kept his cool and began rolling back toward the top 15. He avoided a 13-car wreck that thinned the field and made what he thought would be his last pit stop of the day to top off his gas tank 100 miles from the finish. Yeley restarted 23rd and had worked his way back into the top 15 – again – when the cut tire and ensuing wreck forced him to the sidelines, ending the team’s hopes of a strong finish.

After Vickers, the rest of the top 10 consisted of Kasey Kahne, who finished second; Kurt Busch, third; Matt Kenseth, fourth; rookie Martin Truex Jr., fifth; Kevin Harvick, sixth; Jeff Green, seventh; Mark Martin, eighth; Carl Edwards, ninth; and Bobby Labonte, 10th.

Pole-sitter David Gilliland placed 15th. Series points leader Jeff Burton finished 27th and saw his lead shaved to just six points (over Kenseth) with six races remaining.

Yeley slipped from 28th to 29th in the standings, just one point behind 28th-place Schrader and 63 behind 27th-place Robby Gordon.

The next race on the schedule will be the Oct. 14 Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Qualifying will be held Thursday evening, Oct. 12.