McMurray to Mexico; Yeley expands slate

Chip Ganassi Racing will venture south of the border this season when Jamie McMurray pilots the No. 42 Dodge at the Telcel-Motorola 200 in Mexico City on March 6.

Jamie McMurray

The 80-lap event heralds not only the historic return of road course racing for the NASCAR Busch Series but a notable event for team and sponsor as well: the inaugural Busch Series entry for the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge.

As NASCAR expands its fan base beyond its borders and reaches out to international racing fans, owner Chip Ganassi views their entry as a chance to back an important NASCAR initiative as well as McMurray's bid for the 2005 Nextel Championship title.

"This is a great opportunity to support NASCAR's progressive plan, and we look forward to forging a relationship with a budding market," team owner Chip Ganassi said.

The Telcel-Motorola 200 is the third race on the 2005 Busch Series schedule and boasts the richest purse at $2 million.

The event will be televised on FOX at 3 p.m. ET and broadcast on MRN affiliates nationwide.

Yeley to run whole schedule for Gibbs

Former USAC Triple Crown winner J.J. Yeley will compete full time in a NASCAR series for the first time as he will race for the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series championship by driving the No.18 Chevrolet out of the Joe Gibbs Racing stable.

J.J. Yeley

Vigoro and The Home Depot are once again backing Yeley's efforts, this time moving forward to sponsor the No.18 full time after a partial-year sponsorship in 2004.

In addition to enjoying a full-time ride with Joe Gibbs Racing, Yeley will also have the benefit of a new crew chief, Jason Ratcliff. Ratcliff joined Joe Gibbs Racing at the conclusion of the 2004 season, and he will lead the team in 2005.

Ratcliff was formerly with Brewco Motorsports, where he led drivers Casey Atwood, Jamie McMurray and David Green to a total of seven race wins and seven poles from 1999-2004.

During Yeley's 2004 NASCAR campaign, he competed in 17 NASCAR Busch Series races and two NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races with Joe Gibbs Racing, and Yeley showed tremendous improvement over the latter portion of the year.

After failing to finish in the top 15 in any of his first six Busch Series starts, Yeley accomplished that feat in nine of his last 11 races, in which he scored a total of four top-10 finishes, including a season's best finish of sixth at Kansas.