J.J. Yeley will drive the #41 Toyota for Mayfield Motorsports starting this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Yeley replaces Jeremy Mayfield, who was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR on Saturday after violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy [see story below]. “We believe in J.J.’s talent,” said crew chief Tony Furr. “He’s available for every race. So we won’t be changing drivers. J.J. has something to prove just like we all do. We want someone that’s hungry just like us. Everybody on this team has at one time or another worked for a larger organization. We’re all racers who are all hungry, who all want to make the most of second chances and J.J. sort of fits that mold.” The team is expected to name an owner of record shortly.(FoxSports – link gone) UPDATE: Who will replace the suspended Jeremy Mayfield? That’s the question on everybody’s mind after Tony Furr, crew chief of the #41 Jeremy Mayfield Motorsports entry, rescinded earlier comments to FOXSports.com that J.J. Yeley was tabbed for the position. Speaking on behalf of the team, Shana Mayfield said no decision has been made but Yeley is on the short list. Mayfield was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR on Saturday after violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy. The team is expected to name an owner of record shortly, as Mayfield is not allowed to be owner of record during his suspension.(FoxSports)(5-11-2009) UPDATE 2: also hearing that Todd Bodine and Mike Wallace are other candidates to drive the #41 Toyota.(5-11-2009) UPDATE 3: Mayfield Motorsports will field a #41 Toyota for J.J. Yeley in this weekend’s Sprint Showdown, the 40-lap qualifying race for the Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, with Shana Mayfield the owner of record following last weekend’s indefinite suspension of her husband, owner/driver Jeremy Mayfield, for a violation of NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. The Mayfields plan to file her owner’s paperwork with NASCAR Competition on Tuesday morning, followed by the driver change. Crew chief Tony Furr and team manager Bobby Wooten along with their crew members compiled a “short list” of candidates Monday morning and when the Mayfields arrived, they met with the team and then, Yeley, before making their final decision. The new owner said Yeley also would drive the car in the following weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s — where Yeley finished a career-best second in 2007 — and for what she and her husband hope will be a brief interlude as they resolve Jeremy Mayfield’s positive drug test. “We didn’t want to be switching drivers every week,” Shana Mayfield said. “The thing about J.J. that we really liked is he lives close to the shop and he came over [Monday] while we were there. He told the guys it wasn’t about money — he just wanted to race, he wanted another chance like Jeremy did when he started the team.” Shana Mayfield said her team is intact since Mayfield got the news of a positive result for “a drug of concern” in a random test given on Friday of the Richmond race weekend, followed by his “B sample,” on Mayfield’s request, also testing positive. Mayfield issued a statement this past Saturday at Darlington saying he believed the positive result came from a combination of a prescription drug and an over-the-counter allergy medication.(NASCAR.com)(5-12-2009)
