LATE-RACE ENGINE WOES DERAIL YELEY’S TOP 20 EFFORT IN TEXAS

For all but 11 of the 200 laps in Saturday afternoon’s O’Reilly Challenge 300 NASCAR Busch Series race at the Texas Motor Speedway, driver J.J. Yeley and his race team were looking at a top 20 finish. However, late-race engine woes forced the #1 Miccosukee Gaming & Resort/Northeastern Supply Company Chevrolet to pit road for repairs resulting in a frustrating 33rd place finish.

Yeley, who started the race in the 31st position, moved towards the front of the pack right from the drop of the green flag.

In 15 laps he was 29th and was 21st 13 laps later when the first caution flag flew and initiated the race’s first pit stops. Yeley, however, was ordered to stay out on the track and was showing 11th on the scoreboard when the race was re-started.

Without fresh tires, the #1 Chevrolet fell back through the field, but the decision to keep Yeley on the track and not pit at least put Yeley’s car in the top half of the field and it worked.

Yeley ran no worse than 21st and from lap 70 was 18th for more than 50 laps, one lap down to the leaders. He was 19th from lap 132 through lap 189 and with that top 20 finish in sight when the engine finally soured.

“We didn’t have a car capable of winning the race, but we were holding our own, and the strategy not to pit early in the race gave us track position,” Yeley said. “It’s just a shame that we lost the chance at a top 20 finish and ended up not being able to finish the race,” he added.

Roush-Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards, the Busch Series point’s leader all season, finished 11th and was officially crowned the 2007 Series driving champion. It was his very first NASCAR driving crown.

Last year’s titlist, Kevin Harvick, won his sixth race of the season in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, beating a fast-closing Kyle Busch. Denny Hamlin was third followed by Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth.

The Busch Series teams will continue to wind the 2007 race season down next Saturday when action moves to the Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona for the running of the Phoenix 200 that is set to get the green flag at 4 p.m. EST. ESPN2 will again televise the race nationally.