J.J Yeley: A True Racer

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July 24, 2012

[media-credit name=”Tyler Barrick/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”133″][/media-credit]J.J Yeley has experienced highs and lows in his NASCAR career. He has been with big teams like Joe Gibbs Racing and on small teams like he is now with car owner Jay Robinson. Yeley was thrown into our sport. At the time when Gibbs signed him, Yeley hadn’t driven a car with fenders. That put him at a disadvantage but Yeley still attempted to do his best each weekend.

He had driven in the ARCA Series, Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series in his rookie year. Yeley had little experience but that didn’t stop him from going out and doing well. Now Yeley is driving for an underfunded team and is having difficulties showing his talent due to the lack of good equipment. Yeley wants a chance to succeed again and show all of his talent.

Recently I was able to interview JJ about his racing career and his family life.

How did you get your start in racing?

“I received my start in racing from my Dad, Cactus Jack Yeley. He raced himself and is a 7 time Arizona midget champion. I had spent every day of my life around racing or at a race track, I was brought in an environment that racing was everything and to be successful you had to give it 100% all the time.”

Who was your racing role-model growing up?

“My racing role models growing up were A J Foyt and Dale Earnhardt Sr. They were driver that showed all kinds of emotion on and off the track. They did whatever it was going to take to try and win the race. It wasn’t until later in my career that I realized that my Dad was my biggest racing role model because he sacrificed whatever it was going to take for me to be a good race car driver.”

What was your first NASCAR job?

“My first job in NASCAR was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing; it was a fast start in an area that I didn’t have much experience. I ran a select number of ARCA, Nationwide and Cup races my first year. It was my first time racing anything with fenders!”

What was it like driving the No.18 Interstate Batteries Car for Joe Gibbs Racing with all the history in that car?

“It was a dream come true to get the opportunity to pilot the car that was the original flagship car for JGR. I enjoyed my time with Gibbs driving the Interstate Battery #18 car. Everyone from Interstate accepted me and being a rookie driver, that help tremendously with my confidence.”

What are the difficulties driving for an underfunded team?

“Some of the biggest obstacles to overcome in an underfunded team are trying to compete against cubic dollars. The new cars, fuel injection take time to figure out, with the sport evolving as fast as it does it takes testing, time and money to find the short cuts to perfection. The larger teams are able to figure these things out before they ever get to the race track; this allows them to work on their setups. An underfunded team has to figure everything out at the race track, with limited time on the track for practice a smaller team will almost always be at a disadvantage.”

Is there anything you enjoy driving for an underfunded team?

“There aren’t any advantages to being with a small team. The crew is usually very small and do three times the work that larger teams do at the track. The biggest satisfaction for me and my team is out qualifying larger teams with better equipment and much larger budgets. It reminds us that we are still able to do great things with just enough to get by because we are hungry for success.”

What are your favorite and least favorite tracks to race on?

“My favorite track on the schedule would have to be Chicago. I love the shape of the track; it is a fast 1.5 mile race track that races kind of like a flat track. There are usually multiple grooves to race and pass on. I don’t really have a least favorite track. Bristol was one of those tracks I didn’t look forward to going to, but after they went back and redid the surface and it became a track that you could run any groove you wanted, it became a track that I like.”

What is one race you’ve dreamed of winning?

“I think winning the Brickyard would be one of my dream come true wins. I spent a good portion of my career racing around Indiana dirt and pavement tracks, ultimately giving my opportunity to move to NASCAR.”

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

“I hope that in my next few years in NASCAR that I can reestablish myself with a larger team that has the ability to be competitive on a weekly basis. Having driven for smaller teams my past few seasons has given me a different outlook on the sport and my career. I want another chance at proving that I belong in Cup Series and that I can win races.”

What do you enjoy doing off the track?

“I enjoy spending time with my family when I am away from the track. My family doesn’t travel as much now that my daughter is in school. As a NASCAR driver, I spend half of every race week away from my girls so when I am home I try to dedicate all of my spare time to them. I do try to squeeze a round of golf in every now and then; it’s usually on a Saturday after practice or qualifying.”

Be sure to follow J.J Yeley on twitter at @jjyeley1!

Super Weekend 2012 Brings Hectic Schedule to Indy

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SM Staff

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July 24, 2012

[media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Super Weekend 2012 seemed like the perfect idea. We would see Nationwide cars accompany the Sprint Cup cars at Indianapolis along with the Rolex Sports car Series in the same weekend. All of the different series racing on the same weekend and at the same track would bring some problems but we didn’t think it would create as many issues as it has.

Skimming over the basic on-track schedule, I see that the Nationwide Series will have all their practice sessions crammed in on Thursday and then they wouldn’t be back on track until Saturday. Over a day off track could create some problems for the teams. The limited experience Nationwide regulars have at Indianapolis and just two practice sessions also raises an issue. Indy is one of the toughest tracks to race on and giving drivers who have never raced on the track only two practice sessions to learn the track isn’t a great idea and it could bring hectic measures.

We have other race weekends each year when the Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series race on the same track on the same weekend and those schedules make sense and aren’t as hectic as Indy’s schedule is. Watkins Glen is one of the tracks where all three series compete on the same weekend and the practice sessions are spread out evenly.

At Indy this weekend we have three different series essentially racing on three different days instead of being combined and racing on the same day to have a somewhat normal schedule. One of the issues with the schedules being combined would be the track switch over which will need to take place for the Rolex Sports Car Series. The Rolex Series is racing on Indianapolis’s road course inside the track and so the track will need to be adjusted for when those cars take the track. That’s why the schedule seems hectic but in all, it actually makes some sense. After the Nationwide teams practice on Thursday, the track officials will adjust the track to the road course configuration by adjusting barriers and the Rolex teams will practice Thursday and have Friday to themselves .

After Friday, the Rolex Series will have finished their race weekend and it will leave only the NASCAR series still racing at Indy. On Saturday, the Sprint Cup Series will take to the track for the first time and practice and qualify within eight hours. That time frame seems hectic and it is. Teams will have little time to make major adjustments to the car before qualifying and after qualifying they aren’t allow to make major adjustments without serving a penalty. After the quick Sprint Cup action on Saturday, the Nationwide Series is set to begin their race at 4 PM EST, which is a pretty late time to start the race. After Saturday, the craziness should end and we will have a normal race day on Sunday without any major issues.

The track schedule for this weekend sounds crazy but at the same time it makes some sense and in the end we will look back on the weekend and hopefully think positive about how everything turned out. We are racing at the famed Brickyard this weekend and that should bring excitement in its self.

Allmendinger Suspended Indefinitely After Second Failed Drug Test

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SM Staff

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July 24, 2012

[media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Tuesday night NASCAR announced that driver AJ Allmendinger has been suspended indefinitely after his “B” sample also came back positive. The drug involved is still unknown.

In order for NASCAR to reinstate Allmendinger, he must meet with a substance abuse professional to determine how long he will be in the rehabilitation program if needed. The reinstatement could be up to three months depending on the drug and if he completes the program.

“Penske Racing is very disappointed with the result of the B sample test and will evaluate its course of action as it pertains to AJ over the coming week,” the team said.

Tara Ragan, AJ’s business manager, would not state the drug involved but did say that the banned stimulant tested just above the threshold for both samples.

“This was not the news we wanted to hear and we will work to get to the source of what may have caused this. To that end, we have secured the services of an independent lab to conduct thorough testing on every product within AJ’s home and motor coach to find out what might collaborate with his test, which created results that were within nanograms of accepted standards,” Ragan said. “We are working closely with NASCAR and Penske Racing to identify the next action steps in this process.”

Allmendinger was suspended temporarily hours before the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway after his random drug test, that was taken June 29th at Kentucky, came back positive. Shortly afterwards, he hired a toxicologist and asked for another sample to be tested. The reasoning behind the results of the B samples are rarely different from the original, is because it is the same as the original test but its for the drug involved specifically.

The policy lists over 100 drugs that have been banned and says that a mixture of any drug that could possibly impair a driver could be a violation of the policy. The stimulants defined by NASCAR are “amphetamines, methamphetamines, Ecstasy (MDMA), Eve (MDEA), MDA, PMA, Phentermine, and other amphetamine derivatives and related compounds.”