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

12th Chili Bowl Appearance

Chili Bowl Main Event Starts: 5

Chili Bowl Main Event Finishes:  9th (1999), 18th (2001), 11th (2002), 3rd (2004), 2nd (2007)

2007 Chili Bowl Results:

Thursday: 8th in Heat 4; 1st in Last Chance Race 2; 3rd in Qualifier 2; 3rd in A Main

Saturday: 2nd in A Main

Trying to shake off the qualifying night gremlins that have haunted him in Chili Bowls past, J.J. has his sights set on the Golden Driller this time around.

The NASCAR star, coming off his second full year on the Nextel Cup circuit, permanently etched his name into the books of Chili Bowl lore  by racing through Saturday's alphabet soup of features in back-to-back years.  After an impressive job of gaining 58 positions by advancing from an H to a D Feature in the ’03 Chili Bowl, J.J. topped himself by blitzing all the way from an F Feature to third in the ’04 Chili Bowl finale, gaining 69 positions along the way.

After a near disaster in his heat race last year, J.J. bounced back to lock himself into the Saturday night finale and went on to post his best Chili Bowl finish thus far with a runner-up showing.

Between a full slate of Nextel Cup and most of the Busch Series events, the 2003 USAC Triple Crown champion still slipped in ten or so open wheel starts during the 2007 season, reeling off three consecutive USAC Silver Crown wins at Chicagoland, New Hampshire and Kansas. 

Car Owner:  Andy Bondio

Chassis:  Bondio

Engine:  Barnes

Sponsors:  Barnes Oil Pumps, Dave Zoriki, Kenny's Components, American Racing Tires, Advanced Shocks

Photo: J.J. Yeley after finishing second at the 2007 Chili Bowl Nationals. (TWC Photo)