Kris Johnson: J.J. Yeley on the mend with an eye on 2010 return

By Kris Johnson - Assistant Managing Editor

Thursday, November 12, 2009

J.J. Yeley made 95 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 2004 to 2008.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

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COMMENTARY

It’s been a while since the name J.J. Yeley resonated in NASCAR circles.

But the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver is trying to make his way back after a serious accident Aug. 22 in a Sprint car event at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

Yeley, a native of Phoenix and 2003 United States Auto Club Triple Crown champion, barrel-rolled his car and fractured three vertebrae in the process.

“It did a good amount of barrel rolls, probably close to eight or 10. It hit two or three times really hard, and I’m thinking the next–to–last hit was the one that jarred me in a way that was kind of like a major whiplash that would have stretched my neck and fractured the vertebrae,” Yeley said.

Yeley, 33, subsequently underwent neck surgery in Charlotte, and the outpatient procedure proved successful. He began working out again with an eye on a NASCAR return in 2010.

“With regard to lifting weights, I’m just taking it easy. I don’t want to push myself too far, too fast,” Yeley said. “But as far as everyday
stuff, I’m able to do regular yard work. I’ve played golf a couple of times and I play just as bad now as I did before I hurt myself, so I guess I’m back to as normal as possible.”

Yeley has plenty of company when it comes to bad golf. A couple of years ago, in his final season with JGR, the affable driver teed it up at a course in Virginia and tied his media companion on that day with a 94. That’s one fewer than the number of Cup starts Yeley has logged, but his return will likely come in the Nationwide Series, where he has entered 118 events.

“I’ve been spending a lot more time on the phone, talking with different sponsors and scouting out different opportunities. Getting back into NASCAR, it does look like there are some pretty good possibilities for getting back into a Nationwide ride next season. I have some meetings in the next couple of weeks that could secure the sponsorship and make that all happen,” he said.

If and when he returns full time to NASCAR – Yeley ran a handful of Camping World Truck Series events and one Nationwide race this year – Yeley will do so with a new appreciation after the events of Aug. 22.

“I guess I never really thought about it or took it seriously – the fact that another quarter-inch or an eighth-inch of movement in my neck, I could’ve been paralyzed or I could’ve been killed, according to the doctors,” said Yeley, who has enjoyed more quality time with his wife, Kristen, and daughter, Faith, during his recovery period.

“It really makes you think about the things you love and the things you want to do,” he said.