Racebeat (11/22/03)
by Rich Romer

NASCAR: Joe Gibbs Racing has signed USAC standout J.J Yeley to a multi-year contract. Beginning with the 2004 racing season, Yeley will run an ABC schedule, consisting of seven to eight ARCA races, 10-12 NASCAR Busch Series races and two to three NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races. MBNA, the world's largest independent credit card issuer and longtime JGR supporter, will back Yeley's effort as an associate sponsor.

A primary sponsor has yet to be secured. A native of Phoenix, the 27-year-old Yeley comes to JGR with an impressive list of credentials that could become even more impressive in the coming days. Yeley is on track to match Tony Stewart's record of earning USAC's Triple Crown -- winning the Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown championships in a single season. Yeley has already wrapped up the Sprint and Silver Crown titles, and with only two races remaining - Nov. 22 at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park and Nov. 27 at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway -- he leads the Midget standings by 121 points over nearest pursuer Tracy Hines.

Dale Jarrett will have another new crew chief, with Mike Ford coming over from Evernham Motorsports to replace Shawn Parker. Ford served as Bill Elliott's crew chief for the last three seasons, winning four times. Elliott closed out 2003 with a victory at North Carolina Speedway and a near-victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Elliott blew a tire while leading with a half-lap to go. Jarrett had a horrible 2003 season, finishing 26th in the points, his lowest as a Winston Cup regular. Jarrett did score one victory, winning at Rockingham in the season's second race with Brad Parrott as crew chief. But Parrott was out six races later, replaced temporarily by team engineer Garth Finley. Parker was moved from Robert Yates Racing's No. 38 team in early May and finished out the season as crew chief. Parker's wife, Tara, was killed in an automobile accident in September, though Parker missed only one race. After Jarrett's victory at Rockingham, he didn't score a single top-five finish the rest of the season. His best result was a trio of seventh-place finishes midway through the year. Down the stretch, Jarrett finished outside the top 10 in the final 12 races of the season. Elliott, meanwhile, had a strong finish to the year, climbing from 17th to ninth in the points with eight top-10s in the final 12 races. Evernham Motorsports has yet to announce a replacement for Ford, though car owner Ray Evernham has been known to promote from within. And there still is no word on Elliott's status for 2004. The veteran driver has been in the rumor mill for weeks as he contemplates retirement from the sport. Or, he and Evernham could be working out a deal for Elliott to drive part-time, perhaps with Kasey Kahne driving the races Elliott doesn't.

Jamie McMurray had a lot to live up to in 2003. Not only did he win a NASCAR Winston Cup race as a "pre-rookie" last year, McMurray had the rookie seasons of Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart staring him in the face. Each one of those drivers won during his rookie season and went on to earn top rookie honors. All but Kenseth finished in the top 10 in the final points standings, so they didn't really perform like rookies. McMurray's rookie season, by comparison, fell short. But it was still good enough to earn him the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and put him alongside those four and other former top rookies in Winston Cup like Jeff Gordon, Davey Allison, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. McMurray's numbers were solid, if not spectacular: one pole, five top-fives, 13 top-10s and a 13th-place finish in the points. McMurray and his Donnie Wingo-led crew took a lot the second half of the season. After a 28th-place finish in the second Pocono race, McMurray found himself 25th in the Winston Cup standings. He turned things around with a terrific run at Indianapolis that nearly ended in Victory Lane. McMurray led twice for 22 laps that day in August, and he was so closer to winning that he had a hard time concentrating on driving his No. 42 Dodge. But on a late restart, McMurray was passed by Kevin Harvick and ended up third. Though disappointed, McMurray was able to smile afterward. McMurray closed the season with a pole and a ninth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That enabled him to wrap up the rookie award, beating Greg Biffle, Tony Raines, Casey Mears, Jack Sprague and Larry Foyt. Now, McMurray gets to take the yellow stripe off his back bumper.