CARUSO FAMILY TAPS YATES AS PRO STOCK CREW CHIEF

*CARUSO FAMILY TAPS YATES AS PRO STOCK CREW CHIEF*

Two-Time Former NHRA World Champion Will Prep Camaro for Camrie Caruso



          INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Third generation drag racer Camrie Caruso’s
bid to shake up NHRA Pro Stock racing as just the second woman to race for
the season championship got a big boost Friday with the announcement that
Jim Yates will serve as crew chief on the 2022 Caruso Family Racing Camaro
in which she will debut next February at the Lucas Oil Winternationals in
Pomona, Calif.



          “I am thrilled to have Jim Yates as my crew chief for my rookie
season,�?? said Caruso. “We have a strong team and Jim’s years of experience
will only make us stronger. Having a crew chief that has driven as well as
tuned these race cars is a huge advantage and one that I am looking forward
to taking full advantage of starting at the Winternationals.�??



          Yates, 68, is a two-time former NHRA Pro Stock World Champion
(1996 and 1997) who made a virtually seamless transition from driver to
crew chief after selling his auto parts business in 2000 and climbing out
of the cockpit for the last time in 2009.



          “I want to bring my knowledge and experience to this team to make
them the best they can be, said Yates. “I have worked with a variety of
drivers with differing experience levels and it helps to have that
background. Working with that variety of drivers and also having the
experience with a diverse number of power packages is really important to a
start-up team in my opinion.�??



          During a 20-year driving career, Yates won 25 NHRA tour events
and was runner-up in 33 others. A graduate of the University of Maryland,
where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering, he proved himself to be
as adept in business as in motor sports, building Yates Auto Parts into an
enterprise with 23 stores in and around Washington, D.C., supplied by their
own warehouse.



          After disbanding his own team, he worked with Johnny and Shane
Gray. During Shane’s rookie season Yates directed the two-car operation
that finished fourth in the Pro Stock point standings and won the final
race of the season. The Gray Motorsports operation would go on to win the
championship in 2018.



          Significantly, four of the 500 cubic inch Gray Motorsports
engines, refurbished and now maintained by Eric Latino’s Titan Racing
Engines in Denver, N.C., will provide the power for Caruso’s Denver,
N.C.-based, Jerry Haas-built Camaro.



          The 23-year-old Pro Stock rookie, daughter of former Pro Modified
racer Marc Caruso and granddaughter of “Papa Joe�?? Caruso, who raced in
Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Pro Mod, brings much more to the competitive
table than just a great racing pedigree.



          “If you look at how there are so many young drivers in Pro Stock,
I am really excited about the future with Camrie,�?? added Yates. “You need
personality, a good attitude and ability to drive one of these cars and
Camrie brings all those things to the party in aces. I am excited to be
involved with a driver like that who has her family behind her 100
percent.�??



          Caruso began driving in the NHRA Jr. Dragster League before
attending Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and earning her Super Comp
license.  She has continued to move up through the NHRA competition classes
for over a decade. After three years of competing in the 8.90 index class,
she went back to Frank Hawley and obtained her Top Dragster license,
successfully competing in both PDRA and NHRA for three years.



          In 2019 Camrie landed a seat with the championship Top Alcohol
Dragster team of Randy Meyer Racing. In her second start in Top Alcohol
Dragster at the famed Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Caruso qualified
second and captured her first TAD win. She advanced from Top Alcohol
Dragster, then to Elite Top Dragster and Pro Outlaw 632 on the PDRA
circuit. The team’s 632 car was a naturally aspirated, clutch-equipped
former Mountain Motor Pro Stock GXP that is very similar to an NHRA Pro
Stock car.



          Thereafter, she raced in Top Dragster and, most recently, in Pro
Outlaw 632 on the PDRA circuit. The team’s 632 car was a
naturally-aspirated, clutch-equipped Pontiac GXP strikingly similar to a
current NHRA Pro Stock car.



          “I feel like I’ll get up to speed pretty quickly,�?? Caruso said of
her Pro Stock comfort level. “If it wasn’t for the 632 car, I might not
feel the same way. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what to expect.�??


*Elon Werner*
Founder

M: 214-244-1184
E: elon@elonwerner.com
Twitter: @elonwer