JJ Yeley will drive the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the team announced Thursday, Sept. 17.
He replaces rookie Brennan Poole, who had run full time in the car prior to Bristol.
According to TobyChristie.com, a team rep said Poole will still run other races for the team this year, though the amount wasn’t specified. It also wasn’t specified what took Poole out of the car for Bristol and potentially other events.
The No. 15 team is 32nd in the owners’ point standings, and Poole is 32nd in the championship standings. He also has made 11 starts in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series this year for On Point Motorsports.
Yeley has made 27 Cup starts this season. He has also raced in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Truck series this year.
Overall, Yeley has 318 Cup starts, with two top fives and eight top-10 finishes. He earned his career-best finish of second in the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Yeley will likely have to drop to the rear of the field due to the driver change.
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race will take place on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by NBC Sports Network.
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.