Despite Significant Damage, Yeley Finishes 15th at The Glen

The NASCAR XFINITY Series hosted it's first road course race of the season this weekend at Watkins Glen International. JJ Yeley, driver of the No. 44 Zachry Toyota managed a commendable 15th place finish after being involved in "The Big One" early in the race.
 
Yeley qualified the Zachry Toyota to start 20th in the Zippo 200. With an early caution on lap nine, Yeley relayed the car was a little free but the team opted to stay out. Another caution soon thereafter on lap 14, running in the 13th position, Yeley pitted for four Good-Year Racing tires, Sunoco fuel and an air pressure adjustment. An incident involving multiple cars on lap 14 collected Yeley and caused significant damage to the No. 44 Zachry Toyota. The race was stopped under red flag conditions which allowed Yeley the opportunity to bring the No. 44 to pit for the Zachry team to assess the damage and begin repairs. Having sustained significant left side damage, the team worked feverishly making repairs and kept Yeley on the lead lap. Soon after returning to green, Yeley fell a lap down from the leader but a well-timed caution played to his advantage as he was the Lucky Dog recipient and was posted back on the lead lap. He then pitted again for left side tires, fuel, more repairs and assessment of previous repairs. He returned to the field 23rd. Yeley performed well under pressure as he steadily began to advance as high as 12th. He relayed the Zachry Toyota had become "wicked tight" and started to fall back a few positions. Despite the significant damage and tight handling, Yeley's determination never wavered. He and the No. 44 Zachry crew made a valiant team effort and brought home a 15th place finish for TriStar Motorsports.

"A great recovery today for my Zachry Toyota team, Yeley said. "The car had good speed early and I was kind of riding for the first part of the race. It was unfortunate to get caught in the 'Big One!' Thankfully almost all of the damage was cosmetic . The extended red flag gave my crew the time to get pieces prepared and installed without losing a lap. The handling wasn't nearly as good after the left side was demolished but we were able to salvage a great finish and make up some owner points. We will have a lot of work to get ready for the next 2 road course races."