Despite failing to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway for the third consecutive year, J.J. Yeley officially made the 2026 season his 22nd season in the NASCAR Cup Series by competing in the season's second race at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway).
While he hasn't been back in the Cup Series since, and he currently has no confirmed plans to return, he has competed in four O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races, just one year after competing in only one race at the sport's second highest level. The 2026 season is his 23rd season of NASCAR national series competition overall.
He made his season debut in the No. 42 Young's Motorsports Chevrolet at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), where he was replaced by Brad Perez before the race concluded.
J.J. Yeley replacement confirmed for Kansas NASCAR race
Since then, he has driven in three races for Hettinger Racing, which is now the sport's lone remaining full-time Ford team amid the surprising ongoing absence of AM Racing.
He made his first start in the No. 5 Ford at Darlington Raceway and finished in 25th. After Luke Baldwin replaced him at Martinsville Speedway and was scored with a 38th place DNF following an early crash in his series debut, Yeley returned for the races at Rockingham Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway and finished 20th, matching the team's season-best (Luke Fenhaus in Atlanta) and 26th, respectively.
This weekend at Kansas Speedway, Baldwin, who is also running a part-time schedule with Team Reaume in the Craftsman Truck Series after making his national series debut in the series with ThorSport Racing a year ago, is set to return.
Baldwin's second career Truck Series start also came at Kansas, although he was scored 30th with a DNF after an early crash. His first two career starts in both the Truck Series and O'Reilly Series are ironically set to have taken place at the same two tracks, as his Truck Series debut also came at Martinsville.
Beyond this weekend, Hettinger Racing have yet to name any drivers for the No. 5 Ford, which is the last remaining Blue Oval classified as a full-time O'Reilly Series entry.
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