NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

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 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona.
 
“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 motorsports, 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%.” 
 
Read more: Camrie Caruso will compete fulltime in NHRA Pro Stock next season