JJ Yeley earns first NASCAR Cup Series top-10 in 10 years
HAMPTON, GA. — J.J. Yeley battled hard for his best NASCAR Cup Series finish in 15 years Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The USAC Triple Crown winner and current Rick Ware Racing driver battled the likes of Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott. Then, in the final laps, crew chief Billy Plourde played the strategy right and helped vault him to the top 10.
In the final 14 laps under green, Yeley jumped as high as fourth and fiercely dueled with the likes of Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.
Yeley finished seventh, just behind Busch and Keselowski, for his first top-10 in the Cup Series since the 2013 Daytona 500.
Yeley’s seventh-place finish is also his best Cup Series result since June 29, 2008, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He finished third that day, driving Hall of Fame Racing’s No. 96 Toyota in the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301.
YELEY’S FULL-TIME CUP SERIES CAREER TO-DATE
J.J. Yeley ran for Rookie of the Year driving Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Chevrolet in 2006. After 2007, Kyle Busch took over for Yeley at JGR.
In two years at JGR, Yeley had six top-10 finishes, including a career-high second-place finish in the 2007 Coca-Cola 600. He also had a pole at Michigan in June 2007.
At HOF Racing in 2008, he only had one finish better than 25th and four DNQs. The team let him go after race 21.
From 2010 to 2012, he jumped from Whitney Motorsports to Tommy Baldwin Racing to Front Row Motorsports to Robinson-Blakeney Racing to Larry Gunselman’s team, often starting and parking.
He landed with TBR full-time in 2013 and kicked off the season with a 10th-place finish in the Daytona 500.
After 131 starts jumping between TBR, BK Racing, NY Racing, GoFAS, RWR and MBM in 2014-21, Yeley found his footing at Rick Ware Racing.
STEPPING UP AT RWR
This year, Yeley is posting some standout numbers for RWR. In 13 Cup Series races, he has earned RWR’s:
- Best career starting spot, third at Bristol Dirt
- Best career finish on a non-drafting-dependent track, 16th in the Coca-Cola 600, on the lead lap
- Best average finish in a season (minimum 10 starts), 24.0
Yeley told TRE he’s aiming for more Cup Series starts. With his solid numbers, he likely has a spot locked down as an anchor driver for RWR.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com