Gibbs signs USAC standout Yeley.(News)(Joe Gibbs Racing signs J.J. Yeley to multiyear contract)

Joe Gibbs Racing, winner of two NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships and 40 Winston Cup races since its inception in 1992, signed United States Auto Club star J.J. Yeley to a multi-year contract.

Beginning next year, Yeley will run an "A-B-C'' schedule: seven to eight ARCA races, 10 to 12 NASCAR Busch Series races and two to three NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races. Credit card company MBNA will back Yeley's effort as an associate sponsor. A primary sponsor has yet to be secured.

Yeley, 27, comes to Gibbs with an impressive resume. He became USAC's fourth Triple Crown driving champion Nov. 22, joining Tony Stewart as the only other driver in history to win all three (Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown) USAC National driving titles in one season. Yeley locked up the USAC National Midget crown at Tucson (Arizona) Raceway Park, finishing third in the 40-lap "Old Pueblo Classic'' feature. (Dave Darland and Pancho Carter also own USAC career "Triple Crowns,'' though their titles were not all achieved in a single season.)

"J.J. Yeley is a very talented racer who everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing is excited to have,'' said Gibbs. "He has accomplished a lot in a very short period of time in many different racing disciplines. His track record in USAC mirrors Tony Stewart's before he came to NASCAR, and Tony's time spent driving stock cars for us has worked out very well for him and for us. We're hoping the same is true with J.J.''

"J.J. is the No. 1 candidate from the USAC series to move up,'' said Stewart, who owns the Sprint car Yeley drives and is co-owner, along with Bob East, of Yeley's Silver Crown car.

Yeley has earned 24 USAC victories this year, easily surpassing the mark of 19 set by A.J. Foyt in 1961 and tied in 1988 by Sleepy Tripp and in 2000 by Jay Drake.

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