J.J. Yeley No. 46 Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet Preview Bristol
Harrisburg, N.C. — Just like the majority of the drivers in NASCAR's three national touring series, J.J. Yeley honed his skills on the short tracks of America. Yeley's experience in the USAC Silver Crown, Sprint Car, and National Midget Car Series took him to dozens of tracks — both dirt and paved — each year all across the country. But two of those tracks stand out from the rest, and it's those two that separate the wheat from the chaff in open wheel racing. The experience Yeley gained at "The Hills," Salem and Winchester Speedways in Indiana, give him an added level of confidence as he tries to make the field for the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Salem and Winchester are both treacherous ultra-high banked half-mile ovals, with lap times in the 14-second bracket. Controlling an 800-horsepower beast in traffic, with wheels exposed inches apart from the competition, certainly provided the ultimate training ground for NASCAR's equivalent: Bristol.
Can you feel the changes made to Bristol in the driver's seat or is it still the same old track? "Yes the new Bristol surface races and feels completely different. The old track you had to have a car that was glued to the bottom groove, now the track is more forgiving and allows you to search for a groove that fits your cars handling characteristic as the race unfolds. You still have to work to pass someone but you don't have to use the bump-and-run, which used to be almost the only way to get by someone."
Is Bristol a fun track or is it the racing equivalent of a long day at the office? "It depends on where you qualify and how well your car is handling. If your car is bad you can get lapped multiple times in one fuel run. There is nothing fun about being in the way on a track that you cant get away from the pack. But when the car is right and you're the one going to the front it can be a lot of fun, even though it's still a very demanding and challenging track."
There will be a half-mile closed course world record attempt on Saturday after the Nationwide Series race; do you wish you had a chance to strap into a sprint car or supermodified and make a run for it? "I would have loved the opportunity to run the Bristol Motor speedway in a sprint car when they put dirt on it. I have raced on a lot of tracks in my career, both good and bad, a dirt track Bristol would have definitely been my favorite. I like to think I wouldn't turn away from any challenge in front of me, but I think a winged supermodified at a place like Bristol would be insanely fast and crazy. I'll definitely be an interested spectator on Saturday though."
J.J. Yeley at Bristol: J.J. has five previous Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol with a best finish of 13th in August 2007. His average start is 30.2 and his average finish is 27.6. He has completed 2,439 of a possible 2,510 competition laps (97.2%). He has seven Nationwide Series starts at BMS with a best finish of 12th in August 2006; he started from outside the front row in April, 2006.
One year anniversary for Whitney Motorsports: Team owner Dusty Whitney heads back to Bristol Motor Speedway with fond memories — Bristol is where his independent start-up team made its first Sprint Cup Series start in 2010. Whitney decided to dive into Sprint Cup Series team ownership on January 1, 2010 and in just six weeks had a team and car at Daytona. Although it was an uphill climb at many of the early races last season, Whitney Motorsports qualified for 22 of the 36 races with a best finish of 19th in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
For on-site interviews with driver J.J. Yeley and/or team owner Dusty Whitney at Bristol Motor Speedway, please contact Ron Linkous at (817) 366-3687.