After failing to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway for the third straight year, again with J.J. Yeley behind the wheel of the No. 44 Chevrolet, NY Racing Team returned to action at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).
With the No. 44 car being one of only two non-chartered (open) cars on the entry list, Yeley was locked into the race, officially making the 2026 season his 10th straight season and 22nd overall season of Cup Series competition.
Sunday's overtime-extended 271-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) Hampton, Georgia was your typical superspeedway race as far as attrition was concerned. At one point, 28 drivers in the 38-car field had been involved in some sort of an incident.
Yeley was one of the 10 that wasn't, but unfortunately he was next. Already laps down, he was eventually scored in 31st place with a DNF.
J.J. Yeley, NY Racing Team not returning at COTA
It is widely expected that NY Racing Team plan on doing this year what they did in 2024 and 2025, and that is taking a week-by-week approach to a part-time schedule.
As of now, they don't have any confirmed starts lined up for the No. 44 Chevrolet for the rest of the season, but that remains subject to change.
The No. 44 car is not on the entry list for this weekend's race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), however, and neither is the only other open car that competed at Atlanta, that being the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet of B.J. McLeod.
The only open car on the entry list for Sunday's 95-lap DuraMAX Grand Prix around the 17-turn, 2.4-mile (3.862-kilometer) Austin, Texas road course is the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, which has not yet appeared this season. Reigning O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love is set to make his Cup Series road course debut in the car this weekend.
Fox's live coverage of COTA's DuraMAX Grand Prix is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 1. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss it!