Yeley back in Cup Series full time in No. 46

J.J. Yeley found a nice Christmas present under the tree in the form of a full-time ride with Whitney Motorsports in 2011. According to the team's Facebook page, Yeley will be driving the No. 46 Chevrolet next season. The team recently announced that Cash America International has agreed to a four-race sponsorship package.

After three years in the Nationwide Series, team owner Dusty Whitney purchased Dodges from Richard Petty Motorsports and decided to make a go of it in Sprint Cup in 2010, with decidedly mixed results. The team finished 42nd in the owner's standings, making the field on 22 occasions with four different drivers. Yeley was in the car for 11 races, followed by Michael McDowell (seven), Terry Cook (three) and Terry Labonte (one).

Yeley scored the team's lone top-20 finish with a 19th-place effort at Daytona in July. The team's best qualifying effort came at Talladega, where McDowell put the car 15th on the grid.

Yeley, a 34-year-old Arizona native, is a former open-wheel standout. Yeley won USAC's Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown championships during the 2003 season, joining Tony Stewart as the only other driver to accomplish that feat. He made his Cup debut the following season as Stewart's teammate with Joe Gibbs Racing.

In addition to his starts with Whitney, Yeley also drove for Tommy Baldwin and Bill Jenkins in 2010. In 112 career Cup starts, Yeley has two top-five finishes: a second in the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and a third at New Hampshire in 2008. His only career pole came at the 2007 Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan.