J.J. Yeley Pocono II Qualifying Report

J.J. Yeley and Front Row Motorsports Qualify for the Good Sam RV Insurance 500

J.J. Yeley qualified his Front Row Motorsports Ford in the 34th position for the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at the Pocono International Raceway. It will be the first race that the Arizona native will compete in for the No. 55 team after a disappointing DNQ last week at Indianapolis.

"Last week at Indy we had a malfunction in the rear gear, it actually burnt the gear up and when they get hot, they bind up. That can rob us from as much as 40 or 50 horsepower. As good as we were in practice here today, it makes you wonder what we could have done last week."

J.J. Yeley, Front Row Motorsports Ford

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

There was no shortage of horsepower this weekend for Yeley and the team as they were among the fastest of the go or go home cars in practice. "The car was really good. We tried some different setups, including one that was close to what the 38 team was running."

The 34-year-old has eight career starts at the Tricky Triangle and is certainly no stranger to the challenges it presents. "To me, it's a fun place to go to because it has so much character. It's tough to get the car handling in all three corners. In one corner you might be really good and in another one, you might be really bad. It would be great if they could repave the track or just the corners, just got it to where it wasn't quite so rough. I can't imagine how fast this place would be if it had fresh asphalt" explained Yeley.

The opportunity to drive for Front Row Motorspots represents a fresh start for Yeley, who will compete in the rest of the 2011 season for the team, which will include three starts filling in for teammate Travis Kvapil. "I felt that I had to stay ahead of the curve with the changes that were on the horizon in the sport, such as the introduction of fuel injection next year. This team has the capability to handle such changes."

Yeley has great faith in his car owner as well. "Bob Jenkins does a great job with these teams. He's been around long enough to know what it takes to survive. He funds a lot of costs out of his pocket. Additional sponsorship dollars will go a long way with this team."