Some of NASCAR’s most prolific names have competed in the sport for decades. Drivers such as Richard Petty, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart were mainstays in the sport for at least 20 years.
Being a staple in NASCAR requires teams to believe in a driver’s abilities, consistent results and sponsorship.
One driver who breaks this mold is J.J. Yeley.
Racing part time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Rick Ware Racing, Yeley is in his 20th season of competition among NASCAR’s top three series.
Yeley isn’t mentioned among the sport’s mainstays primarily because he hasn’t won a NASCAR race, let alone a championship.
His best Cup Series points finish came in 2007 when he ended the year 21st in the standings while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
However, Yeley’s NASCAR stats do not tell his full story.
Admittedly, his early career aspirations weren’t clear.
“I don’t know if that was even the goal,” Yeley told SPEED SPORT. “I was lucky enough when I raced sprint cars that I drove for my dad (‘Cactus’ Jack Yeley) and my parents and had success. Then, it just got to the point where there was a personality conflict, it just never works well with father and son.
“Made some changes and went with a new team. They gave me freewill to kind of do what I wanted and found success.”
Racing sprint cars during the 1990s, Yeley began to find a rhythm inside the cockpit. After winning the 1997 USAC Indiana Sprint Week title, Yeley got the opportunity to race an Indy car.
“When I got the opportunity to participate in the IRL (Indy Racing League), that was a Tony George dream of the throwback to the days of getting the guys who raced dirt on Friday, Saturday night and then going to run an Indy car,” Yeley explained.
“Between Jack Hewitt, Donnie Beechler, Steve Kinser, myself and Jason Leffler, there was a bunch of us at that time who would have never gotten the chance. Luckily enough for me, I got put together with some really good guys.”
Teamed with Sinden Racing Service for five races in 1998, Yeley’s shining moment came during the 82nd running of the Indianapolis 500.
“I qualified 13th, finished ninth. If I wouldn’t have got into a first corner skirmish with Eddie Cheever, who knows where I would have been,” Yeley said. “I think I would have been top five because I lost two laps sitting on the race track.
“It was completely out of my realm. I mean, my first Indy car race at PIR (Phoenix Raceway), I think I’d run five pavement races. So, huge learning curve. It’s not that I didn’t understand it, but it was just so much different than everything I’d ever done before that.”
After three races for Byrd-McCormack Motorsports in 2000, Yeley was at a crossroads with only one viable option to pursue in motorsports — dirt racing.
“The Indy car thing just wasn’t working out,” Yeley said. “Small teams, no sponsorship, back to dirt racing and thought that’s where I was going to spend the rest of my life.”
Only this time around, the Phoenix native lit the series on fire.
In 2001, Yeley earned the USAC National Sprint Car Series championship. It was the beginning of a historic run for Yeley.
In 2003, he joined Tony Stewart (1995) as only the second driver to win the USAC Triple Crown, claiming titles in USAC’s Silver Crown, sprint car and midget divisions. Yeley and Stewart are the only drivers to turn the trick in a single season.
Attempting to contest every race on all three schedules sounds daunting. For Yeley, it was the experience of a lifetime.
“It was a blur,” Yeley said. “I think that made it that much more gratifying for what I was able to accomplish. Obviously, I had a lot of great people that supported me.