J.J. YELEY
Martinsville: The Calm Before the Storm
CORNELIUS, N.C. (March 25, 2008) -- After a whirlwind start to the 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, which included numerous test sessions,
five races, nearly three weeks in Daytona Beach, Fla., multiple trips to
the West Coast, and several media and sponsor appearances, J.J. Yeley's
hectic schedule calmed down a bit during the Easter holiday and, with
it, the first off-weekend of the year.
While there is another off-weekend in just three weeks, for Yeley and
the DLP HDTV/Hall of Fame Racing Team, the next three weeks will be just
as busy as the first five as the series heads to Martinsville (Va.)
Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.
This weekend's Goody's Cool Orange 500 Sprint Cup Series event at
Martinsville is usually a low-key weekend for most competitors. But it
will be an important one for Yeley and the DLP team as Steve Boyer will
work his first race as crew chief after replacing Brandon Thomas last
week.
Once through Martinsville, the pace picks up for Yeley as he heads to
Texas and Phoenix -- two of the most important races on the schedule for
the team. DLP HDTV, a division of Texas Instruments, is headquartered in
Dallas, less than an hour's drive from Texas Motor Speedway. After that,
it's on to Phoenix, Yeley's hometown, as well as the residence of Jeff
Moorad and Tom Garfinkel, co-owners of Hall of Fame Racing.
Three weeks, 21 busy days, with Martinsville serving as the calm before
the storm.
J.J. YELEY, driver of the No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry:
What are your overall thoughts heading into Martinsville?
"Going into Martinsville, we've decided to make a change to the crew
chief position, putting in Steve Boyer. He's been doing a lot of stuff
with the team, a lot of data acquisition and things like that. So it
won't be a drastic change since I've been working with Steve a little
bit. I know Hall of Fame Racing and the DLP race car have been very
successful in previous trips to Martinsville. I think we'll probably not
vary too much from those setups."
What does it take to be fast at Martinsville?
"The biggest key at Martinsville is to qualify well. Since it's such a
small race track, if you don't qualify well, it's easy to go down a lap
early. It's hard to pass, so qualifying well is huge there. You need a
car that will turn well. You don't have to be the fastest for 10 laps
because you generally have long green flag runs there. So you need a car
that is consistent for a long time."
Do you enjoy racing at Martinsville?
"I don't mind racing at Martinsville. Last year, I had some good runs
at Martinsville. I had an engine failure in the fall race when we had a
really good run going. It's a fun place and it takes a lot of patience.
You have to have to be very methodical with your thought process and
make sure you don't use up your brakes. You just have to be patient and
make sure you keep everything intact at the end."
You've got three really important weeks ahead of you. Do you see
Martinsville as the calm before the storm?
"I think it is. The last three or four weeks have been pretty busy.
Martinsville is usually a low-key weekend, outside of the racing duties.
Texas has not been one of my greatest tracks. We always seem to have
some bad luck there. I finished well in the fall race there last year.
With DLP being headquartered in the area, obviously we want to run well.
You want to run well and win races no matter where you are, but I think
it's crucial to do it in DLP's hometown, and then again in Phoenix the
next week."
-credit: hofr
