J.J. Yeley fractured vertebrae in his neck in a sprint-car crash Aug. 22 at Lakeside Speedway. He later had two vertebrae surgically fused with screws and a metal plate.
A little more than a month later, Yeley is well on his way to recovery. The 2003 USAC Triple Crown champion is working out every day and is working on landing a ride for the 2010 racing season.
Yeley described the accident that sent him to the crash house.
“For the most part it was a typical sprint-car type of accident,” Yeley said. “At the start of the race, the race track had a lot of grip, so it was real tacky. It was actually the third restart from cars that had already flipped. I just went in the corner by myself, caught a rut, the car bicycled and started flipping off the left side of the cage. It did a good amount of barrel rolls, probably close to eight or 10. It hit two or three times really hard and I’m thinking the next to last hit was the one that jarred me in a way that was kind of like a major whiplash that would have stretched my neck and fractured the vertebrae. It wasn’t necessarily a break as much as it had taken two of the vertebrate in my neck and perched them on top of each other.”
Surgery was not required for Yeley to heal, but it made the process a lot quicker.
“I could’ve went the natural healing route, which would’ve put me in a neck collar for a good three to four months, and at the end of that time the vertebrae would’ve fused themselves,” Yeley explained. “I chose to go ahead and do the surgery with Dr. (Dom) Coric (a neurosurgeon with Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates in Charlotte) in North Carolina who is one of the best neck surgeons in the United States. It was an outpatient procedure. I went in at 7 a.m. and was home by 1 o’clock in the afternoon.
“They went through the front of my neck, so I will always have a little tiny scar in the front to show my little battle wound. It’s the first time I’ve ever been injured in a race car. For me, I guess I should consider myself lucky that I’ve made it right at 16 years racing professionally without any kind of major injury.”
Yeley hopes to be cleared to return to driving in December.
“I’ve definitely written off the 2009 season,” he said. “They want to do another X-ray in December. If they see no problems with it, then I’ll be clear. The doctors tell me that by doing the fusion with the screws and the plates that those vertebrae are actually stronger in that portion of the neck than they would’ve been naturally. Obviously, it’s going to make it a little bit weaker above and below in the natural area, and that’s why I have to focus on getting the strength back in my neck and my shoulders to help support everything. For the most part, the area is stronger now than it was before the accident.”
Yeley would like to make his return to racing at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January.
“It is my plan. I’ve been spending a lot more time on the phone, talking with different sponsors and scouting out different opportunities,” he said. “Getting back into NASCAR, it does look like there are some pretty good possibilities for getting back into a Nationwide ride next season. I have some meetings in the next couple of weeks that could secure the sponsorship and make that all happen. As far as looking forward to the Chili Bowl and some of the bigger races that guys always get a chance to go do, I would probably be healed by then. We will just kind of play it by ear and see how things go as far as the big plans for next year.”
While he acknowledges his injury was severe, Yeley knows it could have been worse.
“I think it’s something that’s important for everyone to know,” he said. “As serious as the injury was, it wasn’t a broken neck it and it wasn’t as severe as it could’ve been. Whenever I am cleared, I will be 100 percent ready to go racing. I’ve been doing this for so long, I’m lucky I’ve made it this long before I’ve had any kind of real injury. I just want to educate the people and the fans, let them know that I’m fine and ready to get back to it. I’m just trying to put some of those rumors to rest. Let people know that I’m healthy and hopefully will be ready to go here pretty soon.”