DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: J.J. Yeley showed up and raced in a car unseen, undriven, and underestimated at Daytona International Speedway, looking to make it into the Great American Race, the Daytona 500.
Not even knowing he would drive the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet until Wednesday afternoon, a little more than 24 hours before the qualifying race, Yeley battled to the end of the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel, however, the Phoenix, Ariz. native saw his opportunity to compete in Sunday’s race disappear in the blink of an eye.
Never losing the draft throughout Duel 1, Yeley drove up through the field and hovered around the 15th position. “I was worried that when they dropped the green that we were going to have a hard time keeping up with the draft,” Yeley said.
With the support of a Hendrick Motorsports-aided car, the NASCAR veteran felt he was in a good position to earn one of the coveted 40 starting spots for the Daytona 500.
“Hendrick put this car together. It drove fantastic,” added Yeley. “Had a lot of speed in the draft, and like I said, we were just riding, taking my time. I had to be on the outside, the inside it just killed my momentum.”
A late caution on Lap 51 involving Jimmie Johnson brought hope to the 100 Coconut Water Chevrolet driver.
“Obviously what happened with the No. 84, got a caution, got a break,” explained Yeley. “The car just didn’t have good acceleration on restarts, but side by side, coming to two – three (laps) to go, I thought we were in really good shape.”
Unfortunately for Yeley, it wasn’t meant to be.
A last-minute decision to go to the top lane in Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag, unfortunately, proved to backfire.
“Going into turn three, I mean, I was not counting my chickens, but I was getting close, and I saw that there was some contact,” he explained. “Someone in the middle lost a lot of momentum and I just made a split-second decision to go to the outside, carry the momentum, clear him. At least make the racetrack two wide to where he couldn’t pass.”
Dejected, Yeley expressed his frustration. “He (Johnson) stayed in the middle. The 19 (Truex) pushed him. The momentum just carried him all the way to the checkered flag.
“It sucks. Two years ago, we were close, but we just couldn’t get it.”
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter at @grace3140 or email [email protected]
