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closeYeley gets big boost with 2nd-place finish
JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Monday, May. 28, 2007
J.J. Yeley is in the final year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, and team president J.J. Gibbs said this weekend that the driver’s performance will determine whether he’s back with the No. 18 team in 2008 and beyond.
So Yeley’s second-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 would seem to have come at an opportune time.
“I do my best every time we go on the track,” Yeley said. “If I get fired I get fired. …I’m not worried about not having a ride. If I couldn’t find anything in Nextel Cup, I’ll go back to racing sprint cars. That’s all I know how to do. I’m going to drive a race car – regardless of whether it’s here or somewhere else.”
All three of the Gibbs cars wound up in Sunday’s top 10, with Tony Stewart sixth and Denny Hamlin eighth.
“In the end it was a fuel mileage deal, but the reality is they were good all night,” Gibbs said of Yeley. “They were a top-10 car all night long. That was encouraging for the whole team. That’s what we’ve got to do. You get top-10s and the top-fives will come. You get top-fives and the wins will come. You get a bunch of (good finishes) racked up and the confidence builds.”