As the 23-race NHRA POWERade tour leaves Atlanta Dragway and heads north up I-75 for next weekend's event outside St. Louis at Gateway International Raceway, two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jim Yates finds himself at a racing crossroads that many drivers have faced before, competing with others for the precious funding that is the lifeblood for any professional racer. But the veteran remains upbeat and optimistic as he prepares his Pontiac GTO for a racetrack where he's had success in the past, besting Allen Johnson for the win in 1999 as well as finishing runner-up to Warren Johnson both in 1997 and 2001.

"Contrary to some reports, I'm not quitting or retiring," Yates said. "I want to race, (son) Jamie wants to race, (wife) Toni wants to race, Grumpy (engine builder Bill Jenkins) wants to race. We love to race and we think we have something good together.  Unfortunately, not only do you need half-inch wrenches in your toolbox, you also need money in your toolbox. It's no secret that to run at the winning level of Pro Stock it takes the proper funding and in the past we have proven that we've got the talent to run with the best cars out here.

"We had some very positive opportunities lined up at the end of last year, but, unfortunately they just didn't work out. As a result, it left our program in a hole financially.  We still love what we are doing and we are still the same talented team that has won POWERade championships and national event races in the past. Bill (Jenkins) continues to improve the horsepower in our engines every week and our new Pontiac GTO is working better than ever. We're really excited about our program and the potential we have and we'd love to have the money to stay out here and race." As the 23-race NHRA POWERade tour leaves Atlanta Dragway and heads north up I-75 for next weekend's event outside St. Louis at Gateway International Raceway, two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jim Yates finds himself at a racing crossroads that many drivers have faced before, competing with others for the precious funding that is the lifeblood for any professional racer. But the veteran remains upbeat and optimistic as he prepares his Pontiac GTO for a racetrack where he's had success in the past, besting Allen Johnson for the win in 1999 as well as finishing runner-up to Warren Johnson both in 1997 and 2001.

"Contrary to some reports, I'm not quitting or retiring," Yates said. "I want to race, (son) Jamie wants to race, (wife) Toni wants to race, Grumpy (engine builder Bill Jenkins) wants to race. We love to race and we think we have something good together.  Unfortunately, not only do you need half-inch wrenches in your toolbox, you also need money in your toolbox. It's no secret that to run at the winning level of Pro Stock it takes the proper funding and in the past we have proven that we've got the talent to run with the best cars out here.

"We had some very positive opportunities lined up at the end of last year, but, unfortunately they just didn't work out. As a result, it left our program in a hole financially.  We still love what we are doing and we are still the same talented team that has won POWERade championships and national event races in the past. Bill (Jenkins) continues to improve the horsepower in our engines every week and our new Pontiac GTO is working better than ever. We're really excited about our program and the potential we have and we'd love to have the money to stay out here and race."

According to Yates, "My plan is not to go home, sell our race cars, sell our tractor-trailer and go get a job. But if we don't have the finances to come out here and race at the level we're used to, then we're going to go home, park our stuff and spend seven days a week looking for a sponsor so that we can come out here and once again take our place among the top Pro Stock teams in the country. Unfortunately, you need money to race with the top teams; talent only goes so far.

"We've been in a good position with the six-race program we had with Sea Ray Boats and WileyX Eyewear, and we've got that extended for a couple more races, which is really good for us," says Yates. "Beyond that we've got three deals working that could carry us through to the end of the year. I've been working really hard on an exciting program for next year, and we're probably thirty days from finding out if that's going to happen, but unfortunately, no one has signed on the dotted line yet.

"We are very optimistic about our opportunities but we'll have to take a wait-and-see approach for the next few weeks. As a team we expect to come out here, qualify in the top half of the field, win rounds on raceday and be in the 'Countdown' by Indy. We had a really great season last year. We were as high as No. 2 in points but unfortunately we didn't have the funding in place needed to carry us through the year at that level. Still, we won the Pontiac Nationals in Columbus (Ohio) and ended up seventh in the POWERade points. Our objective this year is to be in a position where we're able to compete as a top-half car and win rounds and win races."

Yates has one of the more impressive resumes among the Pro Stock pits.  He has been racing sixteen years and during that time has finished in the top five of the POWERade points eight times and finished in the top 10 fourteen times. He has won 25 races, been runner-up 33 times, has won two POWERade championships, and qualified No. 1 at 29 events. Yates also recorded his 400th round win at Las Vegas last month, placing him behind only the father-son duo of Warren and Kurt Johnson among active Pro Stock drivers. 

"I am used to competing at the top", said Yates. "The only way to continue to do that is to find the proper funding. Rather than stay out here surviving on a shoestring budget, trying to get to the next race, and not being able to afford the people, the parts and the things we need to be competitive, our attitude right now as a team, is perhaps we need to take a step back. I am confident, that given this situation, if we focus all of our energies on searching for funding instead of racing, when we do come back in a week, a month, or a year, we can go out there and compete at the highest level. 

"I'm very optimistic and excited about our program, our team and what we have to offer the sport. I think that we have some great opportunities in the future and my plan is to explore every one of them - hopefully without missing a beat, or a race."