Look who is in the Cup garage… J.J. Yeley will attempt to make his third NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start this weekend and race his #11 Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. In 2004, Yeley has also made 17 NASCAR Busch Series starts for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Testing, testing, 1-2-3…J.J. Yeley completed a test session at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 9th. Yeley tested with his fellow Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte. Yeley’s #11 team tested Chassis #65 at Homestead.
#11… J.J. Yeley will have the number “11” on the side of his Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet at Homestead. Joe Gibbs Racing will race the #11 FedEx Chevrolet full-time in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series action next year with driver Jason Leffler.
Come on over…The entire #18 Vigoro/Home Depot Busch Series crew will move over with Yeley to the NEXTEL Cup garage, including crew chief Doug Hewitt. Hewitt will call the shots for Yeley’s effort, and Yeley’s Busch Series crew will pit the car for Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race.
Turn, turn, turn…After failing to finish in the top 15 in his first six NASCAR Busch Series races, J.J. Yeley accomplished that feat in nine of his last 11 starts, including a sixth-place effort at Kansas Speedway in October.
J.J.’s rocket…The #11 Vigoro/Home Depot crew will bring Chassis #77 as the primary car, while Chassis #49 will be the backup. Tony Stewart has raced Chassis #77 in 2004 at Las Vegas (March), Charlotte (May), Michigan (June), Pocono (August), Dover (September) and Charlotte (October). Stewart finished in the top 10 in four of those six events, including a third at Las Vegas.
QUOTES
J.J. Yeley on Homestead…“We were able to get one day of testing completed at Homestead, and we focused entirely on race trim with our Vigoro/Home Depot car. We were able to run some very respectable laps compared to the other cars testing, so we feel pretty confident heading to Homestead. The car we’re taking has performed very well for Tony (Stewart) and the 20 team.
J.J. Yeley on the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup…“There are several drivers that have the ability to win the championship, and it will be exciting to see all of the hype surrounding the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup this weekend. With five drivers capable of winning, I don’t think the fans could ask for much more than that.”