J.J. Yeley has been confirmed as the replacement for Ryan Truex in the No. 83 BK Racing Toyota for tomorrow’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Truex was taken to a local hospital for evaluation after crashing hard in Turn 2 during the second Sprint Cup practice session this morning at MIS.
According to a team statement released shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET, Truex was diagnosed with a concussion and underwent CT scans of his head, neck, chest and abdomen. All of those scans came back negative.
ESPN’s Mike Massaro reported this morning that while Truex’s status was still in question, BK Racing was targeting Camping World Truck Series drivers Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton to potentially fill in. However, Massaro later tweeted that he was told neither Sauter and Crafton could fit in the driver’s seat and that Yeley was being considered instead.
Then, around 2 p.m. ET, Motorsport.com’s Lee Spencer reported that Yeley indeed got the nod, quoting team owner Ron Devine. About a half an hour later, the team put out their official statement.
Yeley is competing in today’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This year, he has ran the majority of the Nationwide events and has also competed in six Sprint Cup events with a top finish of 34th at Sonoma Raceway.
Truex has made 19 starts in his rookie Cup season with a top finish of 20th two weeks ago at Pocono Raceway. He failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, Texas, and the June race at MIS.