J.J. Yeley Ousted by Hall of Fame Racing

At least he got to meet Jack Bauer before he lost his ride.

J.J. Yeley's fall from one of the top teams in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series took another tumble Wednesday afternoon as he was dropped from his ride in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota.

Yeley, who has put together an unremarkable season of one whole Top-5 (it came in the same race that Kurt Busch won thanks to rain at New Hampshire) after getting bounced from Joe Gibbs Racing in 2007 will be replaced with Brad Coleman, the team announced today:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Aug. 6, 2008) – Hall of Fame Racing officials announced Wednesday that NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brad Coleman, who has been under contract as a test driver for Hall of Fame Racing since November 2007, will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut by piloting the No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry in the Aug. 17 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Coleman, 20, is currently running a full-time season in the Nationwide Series and has put together equally unimpressive results with a single Top-10 at Las Vegas in 2008. He drove for Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series program in a limited role in 2007.

That experience at JGR is without a doubt the best reason why HoF chose a driver who has yet to prove himself on a consistent basis in the Nationwide Series thanks to the partnership between the two companies. JGR supplies manufacturing and technical support to Hall of Fame.

Earlier this week, the team announced that road course veteran P.J. Jones would be driving the No. 96 in lieu of Yeley in an attempt to earn more owner points (the No. 96 is 38th currently) for the team. With that announcement and today's release of Yeley, that leads me to believe that there was friction at the shop thanks to that move, and that Yeley wasn't a fan of being benched.

For Yeley, though, getting released from Hall of Fame is something that might turn out to be a positive. As a single car team, HoF really is never going to make any headway in the near future in Sprint Cup and likely won't be close to victory lane any time soon.

And in Yeley's case, after he got a chance to fill-in for Tony Stewart at Daytona in July, he made a strong point that with a proper car he can move to the front and race effectively in the Sprint Cup Series.

Hall of Fame sure isn't a place where a driver is going to go win championships, and knowing that Coleman just might be making a career mistake of jumping in a car that races in the Sprint Cup Series but doesn't compete.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-06-2008 @ 8:25PM

CJ said...

Ha, ha, ha! I tell you, i was COMPLETELY RIPPED last year when i said this guy would be on the fast track out of the sport, and i was critizied left and right, and now look where he is! He wont get another competitive ride, at least not in Cup, and he'll be lucky if he gets a decent ride in Nationwide or Truck series. It's been proven this year that last year, he was the missing link in making the 18 car successful, because it's the same team and same crew chief, it's just a different driver, and they're leading the points! So all those that wanted to argue and tear me to pieces, but all i can say is I TOLD YOU SO!

8-07-2008 @ 2:21AM

anna seitter said...

I KNOW cj , THEY ALL WANTED TO TEAR YOU TO PIECES
but who were they? no big deal anyway but good think i was not 1 of them. I too always said JJ YELEY was a bad replacement for BOOBEY L. I too always liked bobby as a driver and a person too BUT HE SIGNED HIS OWN boobye trap labonte when he signed in at PE. Conseguently we lost a good driver for the18 car and thank god JJY was replaced by a terrific driver like K BUSH. Iknow you can stand the kylie like they like to call him but the 18 is in it's glory days again. iSN'T IT? Just try to concentrate your toughts on the 18 success, no matter who is driving it and that might relief your bad taste about the kylie. 7 wins and top 5's and top 10finishes half way through the 08 season; would BOOBEY TRAP L ever achieved that? Think about it. I won't even bother asking you if JJYELEY would ever achieved such success.We all know the answer,
however i hope he gets a steady ride somewhere and maybe the NWS any other lower series will bring him more success.
I NEVER TOUGHT HE WAS CUT TO RUN AMONG THE BIG BOYS and so has been. works for me...

8-07-2008 @ 2:57AM

Don Emerson said...

Wit it's limited budget and ownership problems, I don't think there is along list of drivers waiting to sign on with the ol' number 96. Replacing Yeley was a no brainer, but I don't know that they are making much progress with his replacement. For the record I think they should have kept Raines. Works for me....

8-07-2008 @ 8:26AM

charles obrien said...

You need to do more homework on Coleman. He had three top fives and five top tens in his first 14 starts for Gibbs, with a 2nd at Kentucky and pole at Talladega. HIs record this year is quite remarkable considering the piece of you-know-what he is driving against the Cup teams. Why do you think Gibbs has kept him in the family at HOF?

8-07-2008 @ 4:33PM

I actually like Brad Coleman. I think he should've been offered a full time ride at JGR, but Gibbs dropped the ball on that. The difference between Coleman and Yeley is that Yeley never performed well even in JGR Busch series equipment, and Coleman was very impressive in the 18 car. I'd love to see Brad succeed, he just dont have the equipment to do so, and he might not have it at HOF Racing. As much as i really dont like Kyle Busch, that 18 car no doubt is a better situation with him in it, but i miss the days when i could pull for Bobby Labonte and JGR, those days are long gone and i dont see that happening again until he gets some drivers who arent stuck up and get a better attitudes. It looks like though that Kyle Busch is getting pressure though from Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, but the 18 car would be barely hanging on to stay in the top 35 if Yeley would've been left in that ride.

8-10-2008 @ 3:56PM

Dani said...

Yeley did do well in JGR's Busch series equipment he finished 5th in points in 2006.

8-18-2008 @ 1:49PM

Professor M said...

Wow! For a group who write in as NASCAR fans, most of you know very little about it. No big Yeley fan, think HOF should have kept Raines, but Dani's right. he finished 5th in points in 06 (his only full time ride with JGR Busch Series). Anyone who thinks the current incarnation of the number 18 is the same as the 07 or 06 or for that matter, the last 5 years is completely cluless. Why did Labonte leave? Go ahead, take your time, think real hard.....no....I'll tell you, because Interstate is a relatively small companhy compared to Home Depot and FedEx (it's all about the Benji's boys and girls). Under-funded, under-sponsored and overlooked. It was a smart move to bring Kyle in because they picked up major dollars from Mars Corp. Then you have HOF or JGR's 4th car. You have a car, crew and driver that just did not click. It happens. JJ's one of the best on the dirt (broke AJ Foyt's record for season wins and the Triple Crown), but that does not always translate well to NASCAR. I knopw, it's much easier to express disdain rather than to be aware of what it all actually means but if some of you keep watching and (gonna make a key point here), listening, you might actually grow up to be educated in the sport. Have a great one kids

10-12-2008 @ 2:17AM

Travis said...

All i know is that jj is my friends cousin and he rips on the dirt!hey! just maybe if he had some real car, under him, he might inprove his standings in sprint cup! just a thaught!