DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A lot has changed at Yates Racing during the past 12 months, but one constant has been speed at Daytona Int’l Speedway where the team that swept the front row for last year’s Daytona 500, was again near the top of the speed charts during testing at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Longtime team owner Robert Yates retired at the end of the season and the team has been reorganized with Yates’s son, Doug, and longtime Roush Racing employee Max Jones in place as team owners.
Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland will drive the No. 28 and No. 38 Fords, respectively, and neither car has a primary sponsor at this point.
“We’re only six weeks old and we’re a new team,” Jones said. “We don’t have any sponsors at the moment, but we’re talking to a lot of people. There are a lot of things to consider right now, but we’re not the first team to come to Daytona without sponsorship money. With the organization that Doug and I have put together, and the drivers that we have, I believe that we’re really a strong candidate. It’s not like we’ve got a rag-tag group of guys that we dragged down here to Daytona. This is a solid organization with great cars. You can look at the speeds. We’re not embarrassing ourselves, so I think it’s a great opportunity for somebody.”
Jones made it clear the team is in it for the long haul.
“We’ve talked to a lot of people, but I think you want to make sure you’re putting the right package together,” he said. “We’re in this thing for the long term and we’re in it to build relationships and build partnerships, so we just don’t want to take somebody and hang them on the car for the Daytona race. That might end up having to happen if we can’t put the right package together with somebody, but whenever you’re talking to sponsors and you’re putting a team together, you’ve got to look at all your options and look at what you think best suits what your objectives are and what you’re planning on doing. Our plan is to do this for a long time and build relationships, so we’re really talking to as many people as we can.”
The team has also adjusted its crew chiefs, with Todd Parrott working with Kvapil and Cully Barraclough paired with Gilliland.
Yates said he will continue to be a hands-on engine builder, while Jones will concentrate more on the business side of the operation.
“One of the weaknesses at Robert Yates Racing was somebody who could run the business side and run the race teams,” Yates said. “My father and I were always under the hood. That’s where we’re most comfortable, and I think that’s what makes this thing with Max and I so special because the things I’m short on, he fills that really well. He’s been a successful race-car driver. He’s been successful running race teams and he understands how to do that.  
“That allows me to continue working on the engines and touching and feeling the cars a little bit. The things I think we were weak in and short on in the past, I think we’ve shored that up by partnering with Max. That’s pretty exciting for me as we learn each other and complement each other to make this team successful in the future.”