Yeley signs with Hall of Fame

Yeley recently announced he was leaving JGR at the end of the year making way for Kyle Busch, and has finally decided to join Hall of Fame, a team that is only in its second Nextel Cup season, but one that has a close technical relationship with Gibbs.

"In 23 years of being involved in professional sports, I have worked with many great athletes," said Jeff Moorad, owner of Hall of Fame Racing. "JJ Yeley's determination to succeed reminds me of many of the championship athletes that I have been around in my career.

"He is hungry and determined to win races and championships and to do it with class. We look forward to JJ being an integral part of Hall of Fame Racing and to winning with him going forward."

Last week Moorad, chief executive officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball team, and Tom Garfinkel, the chief operating officer, purchased majority ownership of Hall of Fame Racing.

They have already stated that they will carry on with their technical alliance with JGR into next year, meaning they will also switch from Chevrolet to Toyota.

"When you leave an organization like Joe Gibbs Racing, one of the top teams in NASCAR, you want to try to make the right step to be more successful," said Yeley.

"The benefit of this team is that there's already a great history and foundation in place with equipment from Joe Gibbs Racing, which is equal to the best equipment in the sport. All those things added up to make me feel that Hall of Fame Racing and DLP will be the best fit for me."

The 30-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona will replace Tony Raines, who has driven for Hall of Fame Racing the past two seasons and will continue to drive the team's car for the balance of the year.

Raines' best result this year at the wheel of the No. 96 Chevrolet has been a 13th place at Texas, while Ron Fellows drove the car to a fourth place at Watkins Glen, Fellows taking over from Raines for the two road-course events this season.

Yeley is currently 20th in the Nextel Cup standings with a best result of second in the Coca-Cola 600. He also claimed his maiden pole position in the first race of the year at Michigan.