Yeley Eager To Return To Brickyard After New Career Turn
By Dick Mittman
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Cy Marshall and Roland Free waited 17 years between starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Other drivers had lengthy gaps between races.

But none has started in the Indianapolis 500, faded away and then returned some years later driving in the Brickyard 400. That's the goal of USAC racing star J.J. Yeley.

"It'll be exciting to get back to the Speedway," said Yeley, who last week signed a multi-year contract with Joe Gibbs Racing. "The 500 was a lot of fun. The Brickyard will be interesting going that fast in a stock car."

The plan for Yeley's rookie season with Gibbs Racing could return him to the Speedway in 2004. Yeley will race an "A-B-C" stock-car schedule in which he competes in seven to eight ARCA races, 10 to 12 NASCAR Busch Series races and two to three NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races. The plan is designed to get Yeley comfortable in stock cars as his entire career has been spent in open-wheel short-track cars.

Yeley, 27, made his only Indianapolis 500 start as a 21-year-old rookie in 1998. He qualified 13th and claimed ninth in the final standings. It appeared he was a star of the future, but things never worked out to allow him to start again in the "500."

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Phoenix native Yeley then returned to his USAC roots. This racing season, which ends with the 63rd annual Mopar Turkey Night Grand Prix midget race on Nov. 27 at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, he hit the jackpot. Yeley won all three USAC championships - Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget - and set a record with victories that stands at 24 heading into the Thanksgiving Night season finale.

Yeley became only the second driver to sweep USAC's major championships in a single season. The other was Tony Stewart, in 1995. Stewart is Yeley's mentor, car owner in the Silver Crown and sprint series and impending NASCAR teammate.

"He's happy," Yeley said of Stewart, 1996-97 Indy Racing League®and 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. "Once I got to 12 victories, he said he hoped I would win all three (titles).

"It's just real exciting, especially to do what Tony did. It's great fun and means a lot. USAC has been around a long time, and having the season I'm having, I owe a lot to the three teams." Yeley won the Silver Crown championship in 2002 and finished second in the Sprint and Midget standings.

"Last year, I had a great season, and I didn't think I could top that," Yeley said. "But over the winter, I worked twice as hard getting prepared for this year."

Yeley has been driving the midget owned by Steve Lewis, who also provided winning cars for Stewart and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon in past seasons.

Yeley cruised past the USAC season victory record of 19 set by the legendary A.J. Foyt in 1961 and tied by Sleepy Tripp in 1988 and Jay Drake in 2000. He picked up win No. 20 on Aug. 7 when he took the checkered flag at the 26th annual Belleville (Kan.) Midget Nationals. He had 27 victories in six prior seasons combined.

"Once I got to 20 and broke the record, my goal was to win 24 to 26," Yeley said.

Yeley said he negotiated with Gibbs Racing since early October. During negotiations, he received an accelerated course in driving a stock car. He tested Nextel Cup cars normally driven by Stewart and teammate Bobby Labonte recently at Kentucky Speedway in his third stock-car test.

"The schedule has been real hectic," he said.

"I'll probably end up in an ARCA car. Originally, we were going to try to do (Busch race) Daytona, but with the rule changes there is a lot of work to do on Tony's and Bobby's cars. It depends on if there is enough time.

"My big goal is to do a lot of testing and get a lot of track time. I've never raced in a stock car.

"Tony had a lot to do with me ending up here. Of all the teams interested, this was the best program for down the road."

While Yeley keeps one eye on his future, he's also focused on the traditional Thanksgiving night Turkey Night Grand Prix. It's the longest-standing race on the USAC schedule, dating back in 1934. Some of the greats of open-wheel racing such as Foyt, Bill Vukovich, Tony Bettenhausen, Johnny Parsons and, yes, Tony Stewart have won the event.

The races will be shown live for the first time on Speed Channel starting at 11 p.m. (EST) Thanksgiving night.

Win or lose, the post-race celebration is going to be great, Yeley said.

"Especially since it will be my last race in an open-wheel car," he said. "I will miss it. I've run the Silver Crown, sprints and midgets. It's been my life and my love." ***

2004 race tickets: Brickyard 400 fans are encouraged to send their ticket renewals, upgrades and orders for the 2004 race, scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 8, to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as soon as possible.

To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.


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