J.J. Yeley Locks Whitney Motorsports In Fourth Straight Event In ‘11

Topics:  J.J. Yeley, Jeff Byrd 500

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
March 18, 2011

BRISTOL, Tennessee (March 18, 2011)– For the fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event, J.J. Yeley successfully put Whitney Motorsports into the main attraction on Sunday after the Phoenix, Arizona native qualified 38th for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (BMS).

During the lone practice session on Friday afternoon, Yeley posted the 33rd fastest run after maneuvering a lap of 15.324 seconds at 125.215 miles per hour.

In time trials, Yeley hustled his No. 46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet Impala around the .533-mile paved oval in 15.473 seconds or 124.010, just a tick slower than his best practice lap a few hours earlier.

“The field is tight,” offered Yeley. “Overall, we knew we just needed to lay down a good solid lap and we would be in the show. You could not leave anything out their on the table really. With the short track events having the ability to close the gap as far as the field is concerned, I just went out there and stayed in the gas and it was good enough.”

Instead of debriefing with his crew or his fellow NSCS drivers tonight, Yeley will retreat to the infield at BMS where he has three Canadian fans staying with him in a motor home in collaboration with his “Stay with J.J.” campaign through Star Coach Race Tours.

“Staying with the fans is awesome,” sounded Yeley. “It just makes you appreciate being a part of this sport that much more. They all are very nice and huge NASCAR fans. I’m looking forward to relaxing and learning a little more about them tonight.”

Yeley will make his sixth career NSCS start at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Sunday. His best finish in five previous outings occurred in 2006 where he maneuvered a Chevrolet bow-tie to a 13th place run.

The former USAC Silver Crown champion will make his 15th career start overall with Whitney Motorsports in two seasons including awarding the team with a starting berth in the 2011 Daytona 500.

The 34-year old Yeley will join the other 42 drivers in his 116th career start when the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City receives the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The event will be televised live on FOX with additional coverage through the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Sirius Satellite radio channel 128.

Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Pre-Race Quotes: J.J. Yeley, driver of the No. 46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet Impala:

On Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway: “When you go to Bristol Motor Speedway it is the most unique of all of the NASCAR tracks. It is the best place to watch a race no matter what the series. There’s not a bad seat in the house!”

On The Old Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Surface Compared To The New: “The “new” Bristol is just as tough, fun and demanding as the old track surface was. I enjoy it now more because the second and third grooves can be just as fast as the bottom during a long run. As a driver, I like to be able to help my cars handling by finding a better place on the track that fits my setup.”

On His Fondest Memory At Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway: “My fondest moment at Bristol was on the “old track.” I was leading under caution for rain in the Nationwide Series. I didn’t like my car, the track and I told the reporters on Television that I hoped it would just rain until the track filled with water so we could have a finishing tournament there instead. Needless to say, it stopped raining and I didn’t win.”

On The Overall Improvement Of His Whitney Motorsports Team In 2011: “I am happy with the changes so far with the Whitney Motorsports team. They are trying real hard to improve their equipment and change their strategy to find sponsors in order to make the team grow. We just have to keep digging.”

On The New NASCAR Points System In 2011: “The new points system doesn’t really affect the teams much. I think it is more exciting to the fans to see how tight the points really are and how one small mistake can drop you out of contention in a hurry. I am all for a nice simple points system.”

Fast Links:

Driver / Team: J.J. Yeley on the web: JJYeley.com

Twitter: @JJYeley1

Facebook: Official J.J. Yeley Facebook page “JJ Yeley Official”

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DRIVER PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com

DRIVER SPONSOR CONTACT:
NAME: Bob Chasse, Genuine Partners
PHONE: 386.566.8754
EMAIL: bob.chasse@genuine-partners.com