Raines Out-Yeley Signs With Hall of Fame Racing
Hall of Fame Racing has signed J.J. Yeley to drive for the No. 96 team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2008. Yeley’s debut in the No. 96 DLP HDTV car will come in February’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. His entry into the prestigious event came via his first career pole at Michigan International Speedway this past June.

“In 23 years of being involved in professional sports, I have worked with many great athletes,” said Jeff Moorad, owner of Hall of Fame Racing. “J.J Yeley’s determination to succeed reminds me of many of the championship athletes that I have been around in my career. He is hungry and determined to win races and championships and to do it with class. We look forward to J.J. being an integral part of Hall of Fame Racing and to winning with him going forward.”

Yeley comes to Hall of Fame Racing from Joe Gibbs Racing, the team for which he drove full-time in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series beginning in 2006. Yeley will take over for Tony Raines, current driver of the No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet, following the conclusion of the 2007 season.

“After meeting with Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel it was easy to see why both of them have been so successful with the Arizona Diamondbacks and their other past ventures,” said Yeley, whose contract with Hall of Fame Racing runs through the 2010 season. “Both of them are very determined to be successful. They know you can’t just come in and throw money at the team and expect to win races. The benefit of this team is that there’s already a great history and foundation in place with equipment from Joe Gibbs Racing, which is equal to the best equipment in the sport. All those things added up to make me feel that Hall of Fame Racing and DLP will be the best fit for me.”

Yeley brings a strong motorsports pedigree to Hall of Fame Racing. The son of seven-time Arizona Midget Racing Association and two-time World of Outlaws midget champion “Cactus” Jack Yeley, J.J. came to stock cars by way of open-wheel midget and sprint cars in the U.S. Auto Club (USAC), and it was his outstanding 2003 season that put him top-of-mind among Nextel Cup car owners.

The second-generation driver from Phoenix reeled off an amazing 24 USAC wins in 2003, breaking the single-season record set by racing legend A.J. Foyt, who won 19 races during the 1961 season. In addition, Yeley became only the second driver in USAC history to win the “Triple Crown” by capturing the Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown championships in a single season, joining his current Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart as the only other driver to accomplish that feat (1995). Yeley has two other USAC championships along with an Indianapolis 500 start in 1998. But it’s NASCAR that Yeley now calls home, as his 68 career Nextel Cup starts and 110 NASCAR Busch Series starts attest.

“When you leave an organization like Joe Gibbs Racing, one of the top teams in NASCAR, you want to try to make the right step to be more successful,” said Yeley, who finished a career-best second in May at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway. “I’ve never had to make a decision this difficult in my life, but I’m confident that Hall of Fame Racing will be competitive week-in and week out and build the future team around me as their driver. The affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the great people in Phoenix was just an added bonus that makes it the perfect fit for me.”

“We are very much looking forward to J.J. representing DLP and our retail partners,” said Dave Duncan, sponsorship marketing manager for DLP® Products and Texas Instruments. “We’ve had a relationship with J.J. the past two seasons as an associate sponsor on the No. 18 car and look forward to working with him in the future.”

“It’s been great to see DLP come into the sport,” Yeley said. “I have a TV in my bonus room that’s a 61-inch DLP HDTV that is a favorite of my family. They’re just a great sponsor that I’ve had an affiliation with in the past and I’m looking forward to being a part of this team. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to take them to victory lane.”

Yeley replaces Tony Raines, who has driven for Hall of Fame Racing the past two seasons and will drive the final 11 races in 2007.

“I very much enjoyed working with everyone at Hall of Fame Racing and DLP,” Raines said. “I can’t thank them enough for everything they did for me and both companies are class organizations. We had some success, especially in the Car of Tomorrow (COT) races and I look forward to running the final 11 races, including the five COT races. We’re going to do our best to finish out strong before we go our separate ways. I wish them the best of luck in 2008 and beyond.”

Tony Eury Jr. To Go With Earnhardt
When driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins Hendrick Motorsports for the 2008 Sprint Cup Series season, Tony Eury Jr. will be his crew chief. Eury, who has been Earnhardt's crew chief for the past two seasons, signed a multi-year agreement with the organization this week. "Tony Jr. and Dale have a successful history working together," Hendrick said. "They have trust in each other, which is the biggest part of the relationship between driver and crew chief. We have the utmost confidence in their ability to win races and compete for titles at Hendrick Motorsports."

A Kannapolis, N.C., native, Eury will move to Hendrick Motorsports immediately following the current NASCAR season. He will continue the work of Darian Grubb, who will finish the 2007 schedule as crew chief of the No. 25 Chevrolets before moving into a senior competition role with Hendrick Motorsports. "Dale Jr. and I are both excited to continue working together," said Eury, 34, who has been Earnhardt's crew chief or car chief for the majority of the driver's NASCAR career. "With the resources we'll have at Hendrick Motorsports, it's an opportunity to consistently run up front and be in title contention every year. The goals are winning races and winning championships."

Grubb, 31, who hails from Floyd, Va., will coordinate the at-track engineering efforts of the Earnhardt and Mears teams with emphasis on supporting Eury's transition to Hendrick Motorsports and Mears' switch to the No. 5 Cup Series program. The personnel moves will give Hendrick Motorsports additional depth with the Earnhardt and Mears teams. Grubb, who earned a championship as an engineer with the No. 48 Chevrolets and has won three times in 29 races as a crew chief, will work hand-in-hand with veteran team manager Brian Whitesell.

"We've asked Darian to shoulder more responsibility and take another step," Hendrick said. "With all the challenges and difficult situations we've thrown his way, he has always proven to be successful. Darian is a star in our organization and his contributions will be vital to our future success. This is an extremely talented group we're putting behind Casey and Dale Jr. With the combination of Alan, Tony, Darian and Brian in key leadership positions, we feel strongly that both teams will have the tools to be successful in 2008 and beyond."

Hendrick Motorsports is evaluating alternative numbers for the Earnhardt team, which currently uses the No. 25 on its Chevrolet race cars. A timetable for that announcement has not been set.

Mears Will Move To No. 5 Car
Casey Mears will drive the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, joining a team that secured its second consecutive Chase for the Championship berth Sunday at California Speedway. In his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, Mears has notched one victory, a pole position, four top-five finishes and six top-10s through 25 races. The Bakersfield, Calif., native will complete the current schedule in the organization's No. 25 Chevrolets before transitioning to the Kellogg's/CARQUEST team.

The effort will be led by Alan Gustafson, 32, who has earned four wins, two poles, 25 top-five finishes and 45 top-10s since his first season as crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolets in 2005. Only five Cup Series teams have posted more top-10 finishes during that span.

"My goal is to meet the high standard the drivers before me helped established with the No. 5 Chevrolet, both on and off the track," said the 29-year-old Mears. "I'm looking forward to working with Alan and the team to continue the winning tradition for Kellogg's, CARQUEST and Hendrick Motorsports."

Since its inception in 1984, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has posted 27 victories and 35 pole positions with just four different drivers -- Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte and Kyle Busch. It has finished among the top 12 in Cup points in 17 of the past 23 seasons (1984-2006), including a championship in 1996.

"The No. 5 was our first car (at Hendrick Motorsports), so, for me, there's a lot of personal history in that team," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "Casey has proven capable of winning and running up front, which is what the No. 5 has always been about. The goal is more victory lanes and championships for the team, and for Kellogg's and CARQUEST."

The relationship between Kellogg Co. and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team is one of the most enduring in NASCAR. Kellogg's debuted as primary sponsor of the No. 5 Chevys in 1994 and has since earned a Cup Series title, 16 race wins, 89 top-five finishes and 170 top-10s. In 2002, CARQUEST Auto Parts joined Hendrick Motorsports as an associate sponsor of the cars driven by Ricky Hendrick in the NASCAR Busch Series. The relationship transitioned into a Cup-level associate sponsorship in 2004 and grew into the co-primary sponsorship with Kellogg's this season.

Schrader Wins Second Consecutive Southern Illinois 100
Defending race winner Ken Schrader, in the Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet, earned his 15th career ARCA RE/MAX Series victory Monday at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, winning the 55th Southern Illinois 100 in front of 10,000 fans. Schrader, after chasing Josh Wise for 20 laps, slid underneath the former leader on the 85th lap of the 100-lap race and kept the field at bay to earn his second consecutive victory at the historic fairgrounds oval.

“I just love coming here but boy I hate what we put our boys through in the shop,” said Schrader in victory lane. “They put together three cars for this race, and they all ran good. I got to thank them and Federated for sticking with us. I was really worried about the track early, not early in the race but early in the day. I didn’t think it was going to widen out at all. And I should be kicked for doubting Bob Sargent (track promoter). Once the modifieds ran, the track was awesome. There was no dust and side-by-side racing; you just couldn’t ask for any more.”

Wise, in the ESR Development-NAPA Dodge, led 19 laps before giving up the top-spot 15 laps shy of the checkered flag. Nonetheless, the Riverside, California driver scored his second consecutive runner-up finish in RE/MAX Series competition.

“Man it just sucks to come up short,” said Wise. “But the guys did a great job. We weren’t that good out of the trailer but the guys worked on it and got it to where it needs to be. I got to thank Wayne Carroll and Eddie Sharp all of the guys at Michael Waltrip Racing for doing what they are doing for me. You use some of the car control stuff that you learn with the open wheel stuff but these cars are a lot heavier and you just drive them different in a lot of ways. It’s fun to come and try new stuff.”

Josh Richards, with his boss Tony Stewart spotting, finished third in the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet in his RE/MAX Series debut.

“It was definitely exciting,” said Richards. “I’d like to thank Tony Stewart for bringing this deal together for me. It’s a great opportunity and I was a little nervous getting here but once we got through practice, I was used to the dirt feel so it was pretty good. And then at the end we were a little tight from the center out and I had to be careful. It was a great run for us and I’m glad with all the guys on the team for helping me out. It was good to get a top-three finish the first time out. These cars are a lot slower than what I’m used to—you know, reacting and everything. I just had to get used to slowing myself down and it took a few laps to do that.”

AJ Fike had a big day, earning the SIM Factory Pole Award followed by a solid fourth place finish, despite spinning early in the race after leading the first 19 laps.

Eight-time series champion Frank Kimmel, who led 17 circuits, finished fifth, after pitting twice in the Pork Ford. Kimmel also stretched his point advantage to 200 points over rookie Michael McDowell, who crashed on lap 57, which relegated the Phoenix, Arizona driver to 36th in the final running order. He was not injured.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series steers north next to Chicagoland Speedway for the Chicagoland ARCA 200 Saturday, September 8, LIVE on SPEED at 2:00 pm Eastern. ()

Keselowski Cleared To Race
Brad Keselowski has been cleared by Dr. Jerry Petty for NASCAR competition and will drive the No. 88 Navy Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in Friday’s Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond International Raceway.

Keselowski was involved in a wreck in the Camping World 300 at California Speedway on Saturday. He was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center where he underwent CT scanning and x-rays on his head, left ankle and chest. All tests came back negative.

Following standard NASCAR procedure, Keselowski was examined by Dr. Petty upon his return to North Carolina. He underwent an MRI on Sunday and was given a physical on Tuesday before being cleared to race.