With 20 feature wins already, J.J. Yeley is the hottest driver in the country -- leading all three of the United States Auto Club's highly-competitive open-wheel divisions and trying to duplicate Tony Stewart's triple crown of 1995. Last week he broke a USAC record set by A.J. Foyt in 1961.

His work ethic is right out of Foyt's era as he takes care of his sprint car and knows as much about a chassis and engine as any mechanic. At 26, he's very clever, handsome, articulate and marketable.

Yeley is the ideal American oval-track racer and the perfect peg for the puzzle that has become Tony George's Indy Racing League, which was supposedly formed to restore deserving USAC drivers to Indy-car prominence.

A series now dominated by road racers, foreign drivers and Japanese engines is crying out for a Heartland Hero from Indy's grass roots heritage like Yeley. But, unless one of the IRL's owners suddenly wises up and notices this kid's pedigree, he's headed south to join Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Jason Leffler and Stewart.

J.J. will be yet another USAC star swallowed up by NASCAR's vortex because nobody in the all-oval IRL is paying attention.

"I haven't heard from anyone in the IRL all year but several NASCAR teams have called me," said Yeley, who qualified for the 1998 Indianapolis 500 at age 21 but has only been employed to drive the IRL's two-seater around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since that May.

"There's nothing I can do about who's interested and who isn't. I don't have anyone chasing me in the IRL right now and that's fine by me. I've got some things happening in NASCARland and you know that's where the racers are going right now.

"There's nothing available in the IRL for us USAC guys. Our future is in NASCAR."

Despite having no pavement experience, Yeley qualified 10th in his IRL debut at Phoenix in 1998 and then finished ninth two months later as an Indy rookie. But his contract wasn't picked up for '99 by anybody and, after a couple of drives in bad cars in 2000, he went back full-time to midgets, sprints and Silver Crown cars.

"I have no idea and I'd like to go to different owners just to find out what I did wrong," he replied when asked why nobody gave him a full-time shot in the IRL. "No one's ever said one thing or another but you know I got into some accidents when I was in the IRL and Tony (Stewart) said, 'Hey, if they aren't handling you can't make them handle.'

"You know at that point it finally sunk in that I drove the car too hard and got myself in trouble. But I was a youngster back then and I never got that second opportunity to make good on the knowledge that I've learned."

Besides his natural maturation, Yeley has lost that tag of a "dirt driver" and become adept on paved tracks like Salem, Winchester, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Richmond and Phoenix as well. Running for Bob East and Steve Lewis, who groomed Gordon, Stewart and Leffler, certainly accelerated that process.

"It does take experience. You can't just jump out there and go," he continued. "There are guys who are really good on pavement because it's all they've ever done. So it's just a matter of learning the difference and what the car needs.

"Running for Bob East has made a huge advantage for me because, obviously, the guy really knows what's going on in pavement racing. I've learned a lot from him and picked up little things that's really helped with my sprinter."

As for a favorite track or car, he gives the expected answer.

"It doesn't make a difference, just as long as it's fast like Eldora. And as long as it has four wheels, gas and brakes. The left front wheel is optional and brakes are optional. That's all that matters."

Taking care of his dad's midget when he was 10 years old, J.J. still maintains the day-to-day mechanics of his sprinter, while towing it around the country with his lovely wife, Kristen, and English bulldog, Bailey.

"To me, if I get to work on the race car and I can win then I know I have done everything I can," said Yeley, whose 11 sprint wins are only three shy of Tom Bigelow's all-time record of 14 (set in 1977).

"It's just that much more gratifying when you know that you are contributing to what it's going to take to win races versus just showing up with your helmet bag hoping everyone did their job.

"You just get to be a bigger part of the puzzle and, besides, I'm not that good at golf. I wouldn't have anything else to do."

Going into this week's hectic schedule (seven races in five days), Yeley's 11 victories have him on top of the sprint standings by 253 points. His six midget wins are good for a 39-point advantage over Tracy Hines and he leads Silver Crown by 30 points on the strength of three triumphs. He may obliterate Foyt's record (also shared by Jay Drake and Sleepy Tripp) for single season wins before 2003 is over.

"To break a record by Foyt is a great honor but I don't keep real good track of stats," said the 2001 USAC sprint champ and 2002 Silver Crown king. "We just do our best to win races and when one race is over we try to win as many as we can the next week. If I could equal Tony's accomplishment that would be fantastic."

	"	I have no idea (why I couldn't get a ride) and I'd like to go to different (IRL) owners just to find out what I did wrong. No one's ever said one thing or another but you know I got into some accidents when I was in the IRL and Tony (Stewart) said, 'Hey, if they aren't handling you can't make them handle.' "
		— J.J. Yeley

In a little irony, Stewart, who was the IRL's headliner from 1996-98 before bolting to NASCAR because nobody in the IRL wanted to pay him a decent wage, is helping fund Yeley's sprint and Silver Crown effort. The 2002 Winston Cup champion will likely also help kick open some doors for J.J.'s transition, which should start in Craftsman Trucks this fall.

"I think he'll help," said Yeley. "Obviously, we do a good job for him in our sprint car and Silver Crown teams. But if I'm going to make it down there I want to do it on my own, I don't want to have guys pull strings for me to get down and I'm sure that happens quite a bit.

"I'm the type of guy who wants to do it on my own and it would be a lot more satisfying if I can do it that way."

Yeley knows that youth and USAC stars are being served right now in NASCAR.

"I feel like I'm getting old and you know the way the racing world's getting ... you have to be 21 or 22 anymore and they are grabbing kids off the street and trying to make race car drivers out of them," he said. "They did that with me and if I knew the things I needed to know then I would be a lot better off today.

"But it takes experience to be smooth and know what you need to change so hopefully I'm not too old and somebody's gonna keep their eye on me. I know I'm an open wheel guy but NASCAR is where the racers are going right now. The driver gets to be a part of what it takes to win and it's not about how much horsepower you have."

And NASCAR's gain will be Indy-Car's loss.

Robin Miller covers open wheel racing for ESPN and ESPN.com.