An in-depth look at JJ Yeley and how he might work on your fantasy NASCAR team for 2008.

Quick, what’s the first word that comes to mind when JJ Yeley is mentioned? Crash? Wreck? Wadded sheetmetal? Maybe DNF? It’s an easy word association based on his Busch record and Cup starts entering 2007. But perception does not always match reality, and in 2007 Yeley went a long way towards erasing that image. His basic numbers didn’t change that much (1 top 5, 3 top 10’s compared to 0, 3 in 2006) but his point position improved dramatically from 29th to 21st. The biggest reason? His crash numbers went way down, which meant he was running for positions at the end of races instead of turning laps in a dented ride.

Life at Joe Gibbs Racing

Despite the noted improvement, Yeley’s future with Gibbs was set to expire. Maybe the first sign was the fact that Yeley had to find a different owner in order to race in the Busch Series. Later in the season rumors popped up about Yeley not having his contract renewed. Things didn’t help when Dale Earnhardt Jr was shopping his services to teams including Gibbs.

The rumors eventually became truth and after two seasons in the #18 with Joe Gibbs Racing, Yeley was replaced with Kyle Busch. From a competition standpoint it’s hard to blame Gibbs for the switch, because it’s clearly an upgrade. Yeley quickly found a ride with Gibbs’ satellite team Hall of Fame Racing in favor of outgoing driver Tony Raines. Like Busch hopping in the #18 car, Yeley is an upgrade over Raines in the #96 car.

For Yeley’s part, he was never going to get more attention than Tony Stewart or Denny Hamlin and probably didn’t get the full chance to prove himself in the #18. Now he will get similar equipment, but probably more exclusive attention from the team.

Life after Joe Gibbs Racing

Hall of Fame Racing (HoF Racing) has access to a lot of tools that other small teams typically don’t. First their alignment with Gibbs’ vast resources and data is a huge step up. They also get technical support from the parent company, which is a huge benefit towards the CoT.

The other big factor will come from Hall of Fame’s switch to Toyota. The Camry promises great horsepower, deep pockets from Toyota and the motivation to improve on last year’s embarrassing debut. It’s a pretty compelling argument for Yeley and HoF Racing to better their 2007 numbers.

It’s a critical season for HoF Racing, and as a result Yeley might have additional pressure to perform. Their primary sponsor Texas Instruments DLP is one of the highest profile sponsors in NASCAR. After two honeymoon seasons, DLP might demand to see some real return on their investment. That poses a few questions to Jeff Moorad, Tom Garfinkel, and Tom Davin the new principal owners of HoF. How much time does Yeley get to adjust to the new team? Will they again opt for a road course ringer like Ron Fellows to ensure top results? Do they have plans to expand to a second car to leverage more testing and information gathering?

JJ Yeley’s strong tracks for 2008

Yeley has the chance to bring HoF to a new level. If he can take advantage of the support from Toyota and Gibbs, bettering his 1 top 5 and 3 top 10’s is certain. Yeley’s greatest strength is at tracks like Loudon, Richmond and his and the team’s home track Phoenix. This type of track requires fine car control, exactly the kind Yeley developed in his USAC and IRL days. With the strong competition for top 20 spots, repeating his 21st points position is really the most the team can hope for. Even that would mark a four spot jump for HoF over last year’s 25th owners points result. Yeley has a lot of tools at his disposal, the question is how will he use them?

See our complete JJ Yeley NASCAR Statistics.