J.J. Yeley - Charlotte Pre-Race Notes

* 31st event of the 36-race 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Schedule – Concord, N.C.

* A LOOK BACK AT LMS – In this year’s first Cup Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 28, J.J. YELEY overcame a cut tire late in the Coca-Cola 600 to finish 20th, extending his streak of consecutive races without a DNF (did not finish) to 17.

* YELEY has five career starts at LMS, including his lone Cup Series outing earlier this season. His best finish is third, in the Busch Series race run in May of this year.

* October is a busy month for birthdays on the Interstate Batteries Racing team with seven members celebrating, including YELEY (who turned 30 on Oct. 5). Others born this month are NATHAN BOONE, who works in technical services; spotter KYLE CHAPMAN, coach driver SCOTT GLASGO, gas runner GREG MARTIN, shop foreman DAVID WAGNER and car chief SCOTT ZIPADELLI.

* YELEY holds fifth place in the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie standings with 179 points, 11 behind fourth-place Martin Truex Jr. and 13 behind third-place Reed Sorenson. Denny Hamlin, YELEY’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, enjoys a commanding lead with six races left.

* With his 32nd-place finish in the Oct. 8 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, YELEY passed the $4 million mark in career Cup Series winnings. It was the 36th start of his career. A 34th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two months earlier pushed him past the $3 million mark (in his 27th start). YELEY had surpassed $2 million in his 18th career start earlier this year at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

* Joe Gibbs Racing has four Cup Series victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, most recently in 2003 with Tony Stewart. The No. 18 team has the three others – Dale Jarrett in 1994, and Bobby Labonte in 1995 and 2000.

* The Interstate Batteries Racing team will run chassis No. 091 on Saturday night. It’ll be the fourth start of the year for that piece, which placed fifth in the Winston Open (a non-points event) May 20 at LMS. Its best points finish is 15th on March 20 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

* Chevrolet has been the dominant manufacturer in recent years at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with victories in six of the last seven races. In fact, Kasey Kahne’s win in this year’s first stop at LMS snapped the manufacturer’s six-race winning streak on the 1.5-mile oval.