Three offseasons ago, J.J. Yeley had no plans to return to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024. He had spent the past several seasons competing for a number of backmarker teams, including Rick Ware Racing to some extent each year from 2018 to 2023.
He was nearly finalized to compete full-time in the Xfinity Series (now O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) for a team with which he believed he could compete for top 10 finishes on occasion.
Then he ended up back in the Cup Series after all.
Yeley attempted to qualify for the 2024 Daytona 500 behind the wheel of the No. 44 Chevrolet for NY Racing Team, after there were rumors that that late Greg Biffle, who had driven the same car and qualified for the race in 2022, would return.
Yeley, whose Cup Series career dates back to 2004, had made just one career start with NY Racing Team over his 19-year career up to that point, with that coming in the 2018 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when he piloted the No. 7 Chevrolet in what was the team's first race since 2015.
J.J. Yeley back for another Daytona 500 upset bid
He failed to qualify for the 2024 Daytona 500, but that didn't stop him from officially making an unlikely Cup return later in the year. Just two weeks later, he competed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he ended up making eight starts before the season ended. His best finish was 23rd place at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
He returned for another ill-fated Daytona 500 attempt in 2025, but he once again competed part-time throughout the remainder of the year. NY Racing Team competed in 14 races, their most in a single season in team history, and Yeley competed in 10 of those events. His top finish was 30th place at Las Vegas.
It wasn't made official until Monday, but it had long been speculated that Yeley would be back for another crack at the Daytona 500, a race for which he has not qualified since 2015 with BK Racing. He is indeed set to attempt to end his 0-for-4 Daytona 500 qualifying streak this week, behind the wheel of the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet for the third year in a row.
The 2026 season is set to be his ninth consecutive season in the Cup Series going back to 2018. Since his career began in 2004, 2017 is the only year in which he saw no Cup Series action.
Yeley is one of eight drivers set to battle for four open spots in the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Daytona International Speedway this week. Two spots are set to be awarded based on single-car qualifying speed on Wednesday night, while two more are set to be awarded based on the results of the two 60-lap America 250 Florida Duel races on Thursday night.
Should he pull off the qualifying upset and lock himself into the 41-car field, it would mark the team's first Daytona 500 appearance since Biffle's 2022 effort.
Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live coverage of single-car qualifying (Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET) and of the two America 250 Florida Duel races (Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. ET). Fox is set to provide live coverage of the Daytona 500 itself (Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET). Catch all of the action with a free trial of FuboTV!