J.J. Yeley Busch Series Express Notes - Memphis
RACE INFO:
Event: Sam’s Town 250
Date/Time: Oct. 27, 2007 / 3:30 p.m. E.T.
Length: .75 miles
Shape: Quad-Oval
Banking: 11 degrees
Distance: 250 laps/187.5 miles
2006 winner: Kevin Harvick
2006 polesitter: Johnny Sauter
EXPRESS NOTES:
Yeley Takes the Wheel of the #20 FedEx Express Chevy in Memphis: As he has for each of last two Busch Series races in Memphis, Joe Gibbs Racing’s J.J. Yeley will be behind the wheel of the FedEx Chevrolet this weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park. In two previous starts at Memphis, Yeley has piloted the FedEx Chevrolet to finishes of second and tenth respectively.
FedEx, Yeley Support St. Jude “Design a Dream” Program at Memphis: Given FedEx’s 25-year record of support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the opportunity to carry a special St. Jude paint scheme at Memphis was a natural fit. Couple that commitment with driver J.J. Yeley’s already active role in the St. Jude “Racing to Save Lives” program and it made perfect sense to have the paint scheme on the #20 FedEx Express Chevrolet designed by 10-year old St. Jude patient, and Martin, Tenn., native Garrett M.
FedEx Express Fact: Memphis is the home of FedEx and the FedEx Super Hub. Each day, the hub handles about 3.3 million FedEx packages.
Q&A with J.J. Yeley:
It’s no secret that St. Jude is really important to you, tell us how that relationship came to be: “St. Jude means a lot to me and it’s an organization that I have spent a lot of time working with and getting to know better over the past couple of years. They do incredible things at St. Jude both for the children they treat and for the families of those children. My experience with St. Jude actually started at Talladega when I was at an autograph session and a man named Don Rayborn introduced himself and proceeded to tell me the story of his grandson Jake Owen Rayborn. Turns out Jake was a patient at St. Jude and was a fan of mine and the #18 car and Don had found me at Talladega to share his story with me. At that time I signed some items for Don to take to Jake, but we also made a plan to stay in touch. I was lucky enough to share some phone calls with Jake and we exchanged letters back and forth, but then I had the opportunity to visit St. Jude with Denny Hamlin last year and to meet Jake face to face at the hospital. I spent some time with him and met his family and it just meant a great deal to me to meet him. He was a remarkable kid and his family was wonderful in their support of him and their commitment to helping other families in similar situations. Jake passed away on my birthday late last fall. I was really saddened by the news but the joy I gained from knowing Jake and his family will stay with me forever and it solidified my commitment to St. Jude through my own charity.”
Safe to say you were excited at the prospect of the St. Jude paint scheme at Memphis this year?: “I had actually read about it before I knew that FedEx and the #20 team were involved so I went to the folks at JGR and said I really wanted to do it, that it was a great fit for me because of my relationship with St. Jude and for FedEx because they have been so generous in their long-standing support of St. Jude. As soon as I was done making my case they told me they had just finalized the agreement and the #20 would carry the special paint scheme – so I was obviously very happy. Anything to highlight St. Jude and FedEx for their support is awesome.”
Have you seen the car? What do you think?: I did get to see it in person when I stopped by the shop just recently. It’s really sharp and will look great on the race track. Garrett did a great job on the design. I was told he’ll be there this weekend so I just hope he’s as proud of the car he designed as I am to race it.”
You’re racing a FedEx car in Memphis, the home of FedEx, and in front of hundreds of FedEx employees: It’s really cool. I know how important it is to everyone at FedEx to see that car out on the track and doing well so I want to do well for them. I have been lucky to meet a lot of FedEx employees and see firsthand how much they love racing. I came close to winning for them here in Memphis in 2005 so maybe this will be the year I win one for them.”
With the Cup Series in Atlanta, you’ll be flying in on race day only. Who is taking care of practice and qualifying for you this weekend?: “Casey Atwood has been incredible in these situations in the past and he’ll be setting up the #20 this weekend in Memphis. He’s a very talented driver and we have a very good understanding of how I like a car to feel and certainly how to make a car fast. Each time he’s set a car up for me I have been able to hop in and feel really comfortable from the first lap. Knowing I won’t be in that car until we roll off of pit road on Saturday, it gives me a ton of confidence knowing Casey has been in the seat all weekend.”
