After NASCAR Veteran Greg Biffle Pulls Out, JJ Yeley Swoops in at the 11th Hour for NY Racing

Ahead of the 2024 NASCAR Cup season, the majority of the grid has been confirmed, especially for the opening race. However, one notable exception was NY Racing and their #44 car, as a late exit left them scrambling. Owing to the charter system, the #44 Chevrolet still had a place on the Daytona 500 grid. Initially, NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle was supposed to drive the car, but the last-minute pull-out and his leaving the team on the lurch, has changed the dynamics. Fortunately, NY Racing has a knight in shining armor, and his name is JJ Yeley.

It was cutting it very fine because his participation was confirmed, mere hours before practice and qualifying. Of course, JJ Yeley isn’t confirmed to be competing in the Daytona 500 just yet, as he needs to qualify for it first. This is due to the limited number of slots available on the grid, so he needs to be able to qualify with a competitive time.

Why did Greg Biffle pull out ahead of the iconic race?

As it turns out, Biffle was enthusiastic about running in the 2024 Daytona 500. However, certain disputes with the team meant that he was unwilling to race for them. A statement put out by the 54-year-old, read, “It has come to my attention that images of a hauler and car with my name and signature on the side of it have been released. While I had hoped to be running in the 2024 Daytona 500 this year – that will not be happening.”

“Due to unfulfilled contract obligations from 2022 for myself and the team, I have made a hard decision to not participate in any races, until the prior contract obligations have been fulfilled. I wish the team all the best and hopefully I will have the opportunity to race again and win this coveted race”, he further added.

Biffle’s Cup career has spanned 16 years, having made his full-time Cup Series debut back in 2003. During his tenure, he racked up 19 wins between 2003 and 2013 and also finished as the runner-up in 2005. During that season, he won six races, including the season finale, but still failed to win the title. However, in the end, the title went to Tony Stewart as Biffle fell short by 35 points.

READ MORE: Greg Biffle: “Unfulfilled Contract Obligations” Forced Daytona 500 Withdrawal Despite NY Racing Hauler Branding

One trophy that is still missing in Biffle’s collection, is the Daytona 500. To which also, he came agonizingly close on two occasions, one in 2010 and then in 2012, where he finished P3 in both races. At that time, Jamie McMurray and Matt Kenseth won the respective races, too, both times ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Now, his substitute, the midget series champion is all set for Daytona.

JJ Yeley will be eager to hit the ground running for NY Racing

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In his 16-year career, JJ Yeley has yet to win a single race in the NASCAR Cup Series. It isn’t to say that he is a bad driver, because he does have one pole position and nine Top 10 finishes. His best-ever finish was a P2 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2007. Back then, Yeley was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the #18 car, partnering Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart.

Since then, JJ Yeley has driven for various teams, like Tommy Baldwin Racing, Front Row Motorsports, BK Racing, and many more. This also is not the first time that Yeley will drive for NY Racing, having stepped in the car in 2018 for one race. Meanwhile, Biffle drove the car in 2022 for five races and secured a best finish of 20th, but as he mentioned, had a contract dispute.

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