#47x - J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ)

8th Chili Bowl Appearance

Chili Bowl Main Event Starts: 3

Best Chili Bowl Finish: 9th (1999)

2003 Chili Bowl Results:

Thursday: 8th in Heat 5; DNS C Feature 2

Saturday: 1st in H Feature 1; 3rd in G Feature 1; 2nd in F Feature 1; 4th in E Feature 1; 5th in D Feature 1 (Passed 58 cars in Saturday's racing action)

A native of Phoenix, AZ, J.J. Yeley enters the 2004 edition of the Chili Bowl after posting one of the most spectacular seasons in the history of open wheel racing.

After scoring the USAC national Sprint Car championship in 2001 and the USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown title in 2002, Yeley took USAC's non-wing world by storm in 2003, reeling off an all-time USAC record 24 feature wins en route to the triple crown of Sprint Car, Midget and Silver Crown championships.  Fourteen of the triumphs came in the Sprint Car ranks, with six Midget romps and four Silver Crown victories.  Yeley and Tony Stewart are now the only drivers in USAC's history to win all three major championships in the same season.

Yeley's efforts in 2003 netted him not only National Non-Winged Sprint Car Driver of the Year honors, but also a multi-year contract with Joe Gibbs Racing.  In 2004, Yeley is slated to compete in seven to eight ARCA races, 10-12 NASCAR Busch Series races and two to three NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races.

After mechanical difficulties sidelined Yeley in 2003 Chili Bowl qualifying action, he went on to electrify the capacity crowd during Saturday's finale by making a valiant charge through the alphabet soup of features.  After starting scratch in the First H Feature and slicing through the field to post the win, Yeley then advanced through the G, F and E Features before missing the final transfer spot from the D Feature by just two positions. 

For the 18th Annual O'Reilly Chili Bowl Nationals, Yeley is joining forces with two-time Chili Bowl winning owner Andy Bondio as a stablemate to California's Cory Kruseman.

Car Owner:  Andy Bondio

Chassis:  Bondio

Engine:  Barnes

Sponsors:  Kwik Change, Advanced Suspension, Sander Engineering, Agromin, Kenny's Components

Photo:  After earning the pole position for the inaugural O'Reilly Tulsa 100 Silver Crown event in September, J.J. Yeley speaks with Chili Bowl announcer Mike Sweeton.  (Photo courtesy of The Wheatley Collection)