November 2nd - November 6th, 2009
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2008 Ride: No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota
2008 Primary Sponsor: Texas Instruments / DLP HDTV
2008 Owners: Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel
2008 Crew Chiefs: Brandon Thomas (Feb. – Mar.)
Steve Boyer (Mar. – until Yeley’s release)
Stats: 21 races, 0 wins, 1 top 5, 1 top 10, 0 poles, 41st in points.
Best Finish: 3rd (Loudon – June).
High Point: Playing a chess game with Mother Nature, the No. 96 team chose to gamble on their gas mileage during the Lenox Tools Industrial 301. While I ran through the lightning, torrential downpours and high winds towards shelter, J.J. Yeley enjoyed a third place finish in his otherwise dismal 2008 season.
Low Point: There really wasn’t much hoopla when the announcement was made in August that Yeley was out of the No. 96 DLP Toyota (replaced initially by Nationwide Series up-and-comer Brad Coleman). Perhaps that is the most disappointing part of J.J.’s year — that nobody took much notice when he left.
Summary: Coming into 2008, the Hall of Fame Racing team talked the talk and smiled the smile. The one-horse stable kept up their spirits, connecting an offseason driver change with dreams of a better year and top 10 finishes. Besides, J.J. Yeley always looked good on camera with his sunny disposition and clean-cut, family man image. Unfortunately, a not-so-sunny reputation earned on the race track — far too many wrecks in years past, continued poor performance in the present — resulted in the removal from his ride just before the Watkins Glen race in August.
Ironically, Yeley spent his season finishing the vast majority of the races he started this year, only falling out of the spring Texas race due to a wreck. However, nothing could hide the fact that the No. 96 failed to qualify in four races out of the 21 Yeley attempted, while starting eight others in 35th or worse. With an average finish of 29.9, the Hall of Fame team had little to cheer about, and Yeley provided them little to believe in for future performance.
However, blame should not entirely be leveled on Yeley’s shoulders. Life has never been sure in this one-car garage; just to survive this offseason, Hall of Fame needed to pair up with Ford powerhouse Yates Racing in a last-minute sponsorship deal involving Bobby Labonte. In the dog eat dog world of NASCAR these days, it’s tough to survive as a driver without equipment and the additional support of teammates around you both on and off the race track.
Team Ranking: 1st! Out of a single car team.
Off-Track News: J.J. joined other Cup drivers at the golf course for the Big Shots: Titans at the Tee Tour 2008. Partnered with Carl Wolters in “The Warriors,” Yeley’s team finished third on the season, winning the Mark Twain Golf Club event on August 7th. The Big Shots Tour supports the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
2009 Outlook: Currently, Yeley has not signed with any new teams, at any level, in NASCAR.
2006 Frontstretch.com Grade: C+.
2007 Grade: C-.
2008 Grade: D.
Postscript: I have a racing axiom that I apply to Cup drivers… if your name has become a verb, it’s not a good indication for future success. In my household, we have adopted “he got Yeley’d” to indicate a driver who got dumped through poor driving. Like other drivers from the past like “The Bumpin’ Hump/ Spinnin’ Spencer” and “It must have been a Bodine,” I have the distinct feeling that we have seen the last of J.J. Yeley in the Cup series.
Do you want the chance to win a free Frontstretch T-Shirt, and are you really good at talking about NASCAR? Well, we have the perfect opportunity for you. Our staff will be giving away a free T-Shirt to the reader who makes the best post in our Frontstretch Forum between now and the end of the season. So, what makes a good post? It’s pretty hard to impress us, but here are some things we are looking for:
Does your post spark passionate reactions from other readers? Are you commenting on meaningful NASCAR-related events? Do your posts have substance? In other words, “Dale Jr. is the best driver ever” or “Danica Patrick is hot” will not cut it.
So go to the Frontstretch Forums, post early, post often, and post well! We’ll announce the winner following the final race of the season at Homestead.
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