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NLL Rochester Knighthawks

Styres and Yeley Team up as Knighthawks Car Races 26th Chili Bowl Nationals

January 13, 2012 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Rochester Knighthawks News Release


(Rochester, January 13)Although the area auto racing season doesn't go green until springtime, Glenn Styres has already shifted his race program into high gear with a season-opening excursion out west this week.

Teamed up with NASCAR Sprint Cup driver J.J. Yeley, Styres recently entered the 26th Annual Chili Bowl Nationals at the QuikTrip Center's Expo Raceway on the Tulsa (Okla.) Fairgrounds. 2012 marks his fifth trip to the spacious indoor quarter-miler, the third as a midget car owner.

Signed up to compete in the Suburban Chevrolet Qualifying Night on Thursday, Yeley steered the #1 McKinney-Yeley Motorsports (MYM) entry sporting a Toyota TRD-powered F5 chassis and boasting title sponsorship from the Styres Family-owned Ohsweken (Ont.) Speedway. Scheduled to make his initial trackside appearance Friday in Vacuworx International Night qualifying runs, Styres will pilot a familiar zero-numbered 2B Racing/Beast machine carrying his customary home track and Rochester Knighthawks colors around the popular Sooner State clay oval.

Showcasing a stellar list of champions from across America, the internationally-renown Chili Bowl midget showdown kicked off on Tuesday (Jan. 10) and five straight days of indoor competition is slated to conclude Sunday. Styres is the lone driver profiled from Canada, with Australia, Finland and New Zealand also represented on an all-star roster that swelled to over 260 coming into the week.

"I first talked with Glenn last year and we've just kept in touch ever since," remarked Yeley, 35, as he prepared for his 16th year competing in Tulsa. He continues to hold high hopes of qualifying for the seventh time in Saturday night's $10,000-to-win Chili Bowl Championship finale which awards the victor the coveted 'Golden Driller' trophy. "Last winter we put a deal together here at the Chili Bowl and it carried over to the big track at Daytona. He's such a great guy with a huge heart for racing, someone you can't help but enjoy being involved with."

"I've seen clips of Ohsweken and talked to Glenn about running a non-wing sprint show there some day. That will give me a chance to finally make it to his track and I'm sure it will be a great time knowing the way he operates. The Styres are first class, very generous when it comes to giving just for the love of racing," Yeley said.

A record-setting wheelman on the United States Auto Club circuit, the Phoenix, Ariz. native garnered the 2001 and 2003 National Sprint, 2002 and 2003 Silver Crown, and 2003 National Midget Series titles after being named 1997 USAC National Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year.

Yeley's championships in all three of USAC's top divisions in 2003 ---the year he scored 24 USAC wins to eclipse the previous mark of 19 held at the time by legendary chauffeur A.J. Foyt (set in 1961)--- made him only the second driver (after Tony Stewart in 1995) to achieve the "Triple Crown" in a single season. Ironically, Stewart was the owner of the Sprint and Silver Crown cars in Yeley's 2003 season while the #9 Steve Lewis Midget that Yeley drove in '03 had been driven by reigning NASCAR Cup points king Stewart in 1995.

"Winning the Chili Bowl has been high on my list for a real long time now," said Yeley, who finished 2nd in his qualifying heat Thursday but was disappointed with 22nd in the 25-lap A-Main. He placed second to Chili Bowl champ Stewart in the 2007 Championship event, with third-place secured in '04 and fifth scored in '09. "And I wouldn't be coming here if I didn't think I could still win it."

"With so much going on every night its almost more luck to win than anything else. When there's 250 cars and only 24 starting spots on Saturday, luck of the draw has a lot to do with it. So the biggest thing is just to run as clean as you can and stay out of trouble. I've spent a lot of time studying videos of how certain guys drive in this race and what their tendencies are in different situations. Everything you do leads up to the final 50-lapper, hopefully we'll make the grid and get another chance," added Yeley, who in 1998 at the tender age of 21, went to Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the IRL IndyCar Series and became the youngest driver (at the time) to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He started the race 13th and notched an impressive ninth-place finish.

Styres, a seasoned sprint car driver credited with 27 career wins in a winged machine, two Ohsweken Speedway season point titles and a series record four Southern Ontario Sprint (SOS) Championships tucked neatly under his belt, is in search of more success aboard his smaller yet just as racy midget ride.

"Obviously I'm more used to running sprint cars, they really lock you down on the track and the ride is much smoother," noted Styres, who supported Yeley's superspeedway effort last February in the prestigious Daytona 500. Strapped in behind the wheel of the #46 Whitney Motorsports-Red Line Oil Chevrolet debuting Ohsweken Speedway on its quarter-panel, the Yeley mount suffered terminal engine problems just 10 laps into the headine 200-miler to relegate him to 43rd on the final score sheet. "The acceleration is far greater with a midget making the performance much more erratic, and a lot of times the front-end picks you right off the ground."

"Most of the outdoor tracks we run at have a lot steeper banking, around 15 degrees. Even though the corners here at Tulsa are only 5-6 degrees, there's a big cushion on the outside that let's you carry a lot of momentum which creates plenty of passing. This track is also pretty wide, giving the cars that are hooked up a fair chance to make up ground even when starting at the back of the pack," stated Styres, who missed out on the competition last January due to an injury following four straight winters attempting to qualify for the 'Super Bowl' of midget racing in the midwest.

While Styres is almost certain to reunite with Stewart this summer when the sprint cars contend closer to home, the chance to attract Yeley to Ohsweken Speedway for an open-cockpit contest remains another possibility for the 2012 campaign.

"I'm already saving my sprint car for Tony when he comes to the area this season, but racing without a wing is a whole different ballgame, one that J.J. has mastered throughout his career," commented Styres, who expects to offer Stewart a sprint car when Cup Series teams arrive at Watkins Glen Int'l for their annual August assault on the paved road course. Last summer rain forced Stewart to miss a return visit to Canandaigua Motorsports Park, yet not before 'Smoke' thrilled the fans by setting a new track speed standard in his heat at nearby Black Rock Speedway and following up with a checkered flag in a Canandaigua qualifier.

"Ever since J.J. contacted me a year ago we've been discussing some possibilities running both winged and non-winged sprints. He liked what we were doing in sprint car racing at Ohsweken and our involvement with a lot of other teams and wanted to be a part. Just like Tony (Stewart) and the rest of the racers, he's an everyday guy, very polite and treats everyone around him really well and shows great respect. Its been fun working alongside him, qualifying for the Chili Bowl tomorrow is probably the only thing that could make this weekend any better," smiled Styres.

For all the news, notes and race results from the 26th Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, check out www.ChiliBowl.com on-line. During the season be sure to visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for the latest updates on Ohsweken Speedway and the #0 Knighthawks/Arrow Express, or log into www.JJYeley.com to find out more about the newest teammate in the Styres stables.

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