Driver J.J. Yeley is signed by Hall of Fame Racing

He got a multi-year deal replacing Tony Raines in the No. 96 next season.

COMBINED DISPATCHES

J.J. Yeley had a long list of teams interested in signing him after he lost his job at Joe Gibbs Racing, but Hall of Fame Racing wasn’t mentioned as one of them.

But the single-car team raced to the front of the line Tuesday, signing Yeley to a multi-year deal to replace Tony Raines in the No. 96 next season. It capped a whirlwind three days for the team, which since Sunday has introduced new majority owners, a new driver and indicated it likely will follow partner JGR to Toyota.

“This may come as a surprise to some people that I’ve chosen to come here, but with all the options I had, I felt this was going to be the best for myself,” Yeley said. “I really wanted to be a part of something where we could grow together as a team.”

Yeley spent the past two seasons driving the No. 18 Chevrolet for JGR, but he’s in the final year of his contract and will be replaced by Kyle Busch in 2008.

Heavy investment

The decision was difficult for Gibbs officials, who have invested heavily in the 30-year-old. But Yeley won’t be far from Gibbs’ reach at his new team: Hall of Fame Racing has been aligned with JGR since its 2003 inception.

The original ownership group, which included Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, relied heavily on support from Joe Gibbs, and the team receives chassis and motors from JGR.

Majority ownership was sold last week to Jeff Moorad, chief executive officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Tom Garfinkel, the chief operating officer. The new owners said their alliance with Gibbs will continue, but the team is committed to growing into its own entity.

The deal also will give Toyota another young driver in its rapidly expanding stable. JGR is expected to announce today that it’s switching from Chevrolets to Toyotas next season, and Hall of Fame will follow. That would give the Toyota organization four new drivers — including two-time champion Tony Stewart — and three of them are 30 are younger.

Mears to drive No. 5

Tops of the list of three major announcements at Hendrick Motorsports Tuesday was the official confirmation that Casey Mears will drive the No. 5 Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevrolet to be vacated by Kyle Busch at the end of the season.

Hendrick also announced crew chief Tony Eury Jr. will join Dale Earnhardt Jr. in making the move from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to HMS at season’s end. Eury signed a multi-year agreement this week to continue his role as Earnhardt’s crew chief.

Mears’ crew chief, Darian Grubb, will move to a senior leadership position with the organization, specifically as coordinator of the at-the-track engineering efforts for the Earnhardt and Mears teams. Grubb was on the pit box at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May when Mears claimed his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory in the Coca-Cola 600.

Gustafson will keep job

Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Busch and the No. 5 Chevy, will remain in that capacity when Mears takes the wheel of the car. Kellogg’s has sponsored the No. 5 car at Hendrick since 1994; during that tenure the car has earned a Cup championship (with Terry Labonte) and 16 victories.

Still unanswered are the specifics about car number and sponsorship for Earnhardt. It’s a safe bet he won’t be driving the No. 25 Mears is vacating, because Earnhardt already has said he will have a hand in picking his car number and designing its appearance. Mountain Dew is rumored to be the front-runner for the primary sponsorship.