NY Racing Team made their sixth start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and it marked their first start of the year with somebody other than J.J. Yeley behind the wheel of the No. 44 Chevrolet.
Yeley, who finished in a season-high 32nd place in his most recent start at Talladega Superspeedway in late April, was replaced by Derek Kraus, who had not competed in the Cup Series since last year. Kraus matched Yeley's season-best finish with a 32nd place effort.
NY Racing Team are set to field the No. 44 Chevrolet again for this weekend's Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, and Yeley is set to be back behind the wheel.
J.J. Yeley back with NY Racing Team
Though NY Racing Team showed up at both Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this season, Yeley failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, so this is set to mark their first appearance in back-to-back races since they ran the playoff races at Kansas Speedway and Talladega last fall.
Believe it or not, never before in NY Racing Team history have the team competed in back-to-back races with two different drivers, and they have never before competed at the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) Lebanon, Tennessee oval.
Yeley has made three career starts at Nashville. He finished in 27th, 28th, and 29th for Rick Ware Racing in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. He has also made a number of starts at the track in the Xfinity Series, most recently in 2022. His best finish at the track is fourth, which he recorded in 2006.
As of now, Yeley is set to make just one more Cup Series start this season, and that is not scheduled to take place until the season finale at Phoenix in November. However, it is likely that the team's schedule, which currently does not have any other confirmed races, will expand between now and then.
Amazon Prime Video is set to provide live coverage of the Cracker Barrel 400 from Nashville Superspeedway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, June 1.