Cale Yarborough
Yarborough in 1984
Born	(1939-03-27)March 27, 1939 Timmonsville, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	December 31, 2023(2023-12-31) (aged 84) Florence, South Carolina, U.S.
Achievements	1976,1977,1978NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion 1984IROC Champion 1968,1977,1983,1984 Daytona 500 Winner 1968,1973,1974,1978,1982Southern 500 Winner 1978,1984 Winston 500 Winner 1985Talladega 500 Winner HoldsWinston Cup Series modern era record for most poles in a season (14 poles in1980)
Awards	1967NASCAR Grand National SeriesMost Popular Driver[1] International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1993) National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1994)[2] Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1994) Court of Legends atCharlotte Motor Speedway (1996) 3× National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year (1977, 1978, 1979) 1977 American Driver of the Year South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame (1978) Talladega Walk of Fame (1996) Named one ofNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2012) Named one ofNASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCARCup Series career
560 races run over 31 years
Best finish	1st (1976,1977,1978)
First race	1957 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last race	1988 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
First win	1965 untitled race (Valdosta)
Last win	1985Miller High Life 500 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 83 319 69
NASCARGrand National East Series career
8 races run over 2 years
Best finish	13th (1973)
First race	1972Sandlapper 200 (Columbia)
Last race	1973 Buddy Shuman 100 (Hickory)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 7 0
Statistics up to date as of December 31, 2023.

William Caleb Yarborough (March 27, 1939 – December 31, 2023) was an AmericanNASCARWinston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, farmer, and rancher.^[3][4] He was the first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in1976,1977, and1978.^[a] He was one of the preeminent stock car drivers from the 1960s to the 1980s and also competed inIndyCar events. His fame was such that a special model of theMercury Cyclone Spoiler II was named after him.

His 83 wins tie him withJimmie Johnson for sixth on the all-timeNASCAR Cup Series winner's list (behindBobby Allison, who has 85 andDarrell Waltrip, who has 84).^[5] His 14.82% winning percentage is the ninth best of all-time and third among those with 500 or more starts.^[6] Yarborough won theDaytona 500 four times; his first win coming in1968 for theWood Brothers, the second in1977 forJunior Johnson, and back-to-back wins in1983 and1984 forRanier-Lundy Racing.^{[7][8][9][10]} Yarborough was a three-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year Award (1977, 1978, 1979).^[11] After retiring, he ownedCale Yarborough Motorsports and several successful agricultural businesses as well as being a rancher and farmer himself on his own ranch at his home inFlorence, South Carolina.

Yarborough was born to Julian and Annie Yarborough in the tiny, unincorporated community of Sardis nearTimmonsville, South Carolina, the oldest of three sons. Julian was a tobacco farmer,^[12]cotton gin operator, and store owner who was killed in a private airplane crash when Cale was twelve years of age. According to his autobiographyCale, Yarborough attended the second Southern 500 in1951 as a young spectator without a ticket. Yarborough was a high school football star atTimmonsville High School and played semi-pro football inColumbia, South Carolina for four seasons and was aGolden Gloves boxer. He made his first attempt in the Southern 500 as a teenager by lying about his age, but he was caught and disqualified by NASCAR. In1957, Yarborough made his debut as a driver at the Southern 500, driving the No. 30Pontiac for Bob Weatherly, starting 44th and finishing 42nd after suffering hub problems.^[13] He ran for Weatherly two years later, and finished 27th.^[14] In1960, Yarborough ran one race, and had his first career top-fifteen, a fourteenth-place finish at Southern States Fairgrounds.^[15] He again ran one race in 1961, finishing thirtieth in the Southern 500 driving forJulian Buesink.^[16] In1962, Yarborough ran eight races for Buesink, Don Harrison, and Wildcat Williams. He earned his first top-ten at theDaytona 500 Qualifying Race, when he finished tenth.^[17]

Yarborough started1963 without a full-time ride, but soon signed on to drive the No. 19Ford forHerman Beam. His best finish was fifth twice, atMyrtle Beach and Savannah Speedway.^[18] He began the next season driving for Beam, but left and finished the year withHolman Moody, finishing sixth atNorth Wilkesboro Speedway, winding up nineteenth in points.^[19] The next season, he drove for various owners before picking up his first career win at Valdosta Speedway driving the #06 Ford for Kenny Myler, rising to 10th in the final standings.^[20]

Yarborough drove forBanjo Matthews at the beginning of1966. Despite two consecutive second-place finishes, he left the team early in the season and ended the year driving the No. 21 Ford for theWood Brothers.^[21] He won two races in1967 at theAtlanta 500 and theFirecracker 400 for the Wood Brothers, but dropped to twentieth in standings because he only ran seventeen races.^[22] Yarborough also ran theIndianapolis 500 in 1966 and 1967 driving Vollstedt-Fords. After running the season-opening Middle Georgia 500 forBud Moore Engineering, finishing 21st, Yarborough ran the rest of the season for the Wood Brothers, winning his first Daytona 500 in a duel withLeeRoy Yarbrough, the Firecracker 400, which made him the second driver in history to sweep both Daytona events,^[23] and his first Southern 500 garnering a total of six wins that season. Running a limited schedule, he finished 17th in points.^[24] The next season, he won his third straight Atlanta 500 along with the first NASCAR race atMichigan International Speedway theMotor State 500 and six pole positions.^[25]

In 1969, theFord Motor Company produced a Cale Yarborough Special EditionMercury Cyclone Spoiler II (and they also produced a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler). It was a white Mercury Cyclone (fastback) in white with a red roof and stripe. The Spoiler II was outfitted with a special aerodynamic front end. This was a limited edition homologation special that was made to satisfy the NASCAR 500-car minimum production regulations. There was only one engine choice available in theMercury Cyclone Spoiler II, a 351 cubic inch Windsor; a very similar car was also produced by Mercury in 1969 as a white car with blue trim as theDan Gurney Special.^[26][27]

Yarborough continued to drive a limited schedule for the Wood Brothers in1970, winning his second consecutiveMichigan 400 and theAmerican 500 for the first time along with one of theDaytona 125-mile qualifying races and four poles.^[28] At the end of the season, Yarborough was released after Ford withdrew factory support for NASCAR teams. He drove four races in1971, posting one top-ten in Daytona in the No. 3Ray Fox-ownedPlymouth.^[29] He also ran in the Indianapolis 500, finishing sixteenth in a Gene White-owned,Firestone-sponsored Mongoose-Ford. The next season, Yarborough ran five NASCAR races, his best finish coming at Michigan driving forJames Hylton. He ended the season with two consecutive Top 10's driving forHoss Ellington.^[30] He also ran his final Indianapolis 500 in aBill Daniels sponsored Atlanta-Foyt, finishing tenth. Yarborough mostly focused on drivingUSAC races in 1971 and 1972. In1973, Yarborough returned to NASCAR and ran every NASCAR Grand National race in a season for the first time in his career, driving the No. 11 Kar-Kare Chevrolet for Richard Howard. He won four races, including his second Southern 500, theNational 500 and theSoutheastern 500 atBristol in which he led every lap, and had nnieteen top-tens, finishing second in points.^[31]

In1974, Yarborough won a career-high ten races, but lost the championship by nearly 600 points. Midway through the season, Yarborough's team was bought byJunior Johnson withCarling sponsorship. Yarborough swept both races atRiverside International Raceway, captured his fourth Atlanta 500, and his second consecutive Southern 500 and third overall.^[32] Despite his successful 1974 campaign, the team began1975 without major sponsorship, and missed three races, beforeHolly Farms became the team's primary sponsor. He won three races, including sweeping the events atRockingham, but dropped to ninth in the final standings.^[33]

The next 3 years would be Cale Yarborough's time to shine. In1976, he won nine races, including four in a row late in the season, along with winning the Firecracker 400, in winning his first career Winston Cup Championship.^[34] The1977 season would be the greatest year in Cale Yarborough's legendary career. Not only that he would go on to repeat his nine-win performance from 1976, but he finished every single race, and did not finish outside of the Top 6 during the last 14 races of the season. In just a thirty-race schedule for 1977, he scored a total of 5000 points under the Winston Cup points system, earning him his second consecutive championship. He won the title by 386 points overRichard Petty.^[35] Yarborough became the first driver in NASCAR history to win the championship and NOT score a single DNF.Bobby Labonte would join Cale and become only the second driver to do the same thing in 2000. As of 2022, they are the only two drivers in history to do so. Yarborough led the Winston Cup points standings throughout the entire 1977 season, making him the only driver in NASCAR history to accomplish that feat. However, there was a tie in points after the very first race of the season.David Pearson went on to win the race at Riverside. Yarborough finished second, and he received the bonus points for leading the most laps. Both drivers were scored at 180 points each after Riverside. Technically, back in the Winston Cup points system, the tiebreaker would go to the driver who has the most wins. NASCAR listed Pearson as the points leader because he scored the season's first win, but, he was also racing on a part-time schedule. They also listed Yarborough as the points leader because he was racing full-time and competing for the season's championship, and more importantly, defending his championship from 1976. The 1977 season became the only year in NASCAR history to list two drivers as the points leader. Another highlight of the season was his second Daytona 500 victory, earning him a cover appearance on Sports Illustrated, the second NASCAR driver so honored. He also scored two victories inIROC IV, finishing second in the standings. In1978, his team switched toOldsmobiles and received new sponsorship fromFirst National City Travelers Checks. He matched his previous career high of 10 wins from 1974, including leading every lap of theMusic City USA 420,^[36] his fourth Southern 500 and firstWinston 500 at Talladega, and went on to win his third consecutive NASCAR Winston Cup championship^[37] (clinching it at theAmerican 500). Cale Yarborough became the very first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships.^[38] He clinched the 1978 championship with two races to go, becoming the second driver to win the title that early in the Winston Cup points system.^{[citation needed]} Richard Petty clinched the 1975 championship with four races to go. InIROC V he captured one victory, finishing fourth in the standings.

Yarborough began the1979 season withBusch Beer sponsorship and getting into a fight withDonnie andBobby Allison after the Daytona 500, when Donnie and Yarborough wrecked while racing for the lead on the final lap. This was the first NASCAR 500-mile race to be broadcast on live television in its entirety (through CBS Sports). The confrontation and the exciting race that led up to it are credited with starting the mass growth of NASCAR.^[39]Yarborough went on to finish fourth in the standings, winning four races, including theCoca-Cola 500 atPocono Raceway and the National 500 atCharlotte Motor Speedway, one pole, and finishing third in theIROC VI standings.^[40]

Yarborough won a career-high and modern-era record fourteen poles in1980, captured six races including sweeping the events at Rockingham, and scoring wins at Bristol, Michigan,Texas and Atlanta. Yarborough barely missed out on his fourth championship in five years, losing the championship toDale Earnhardt by nineteen points.^[41] At the end of the season, Yarborough announced he was leaving the Junior Johnson team to spend more time with his family and would run a part-time schedule for the rest of his career.^[42] At the suggestion of Yarborough, he was replaced byDarrell Waltrip.^[43] Yarborough won 55 races while driving for Johnson from 1973 to 1980, compiling an amazing winning percentage of 26.57 percent.

Yarborough competed in eighteen races in the1981 season in the No. 27Valvoline-sponsoredBuick for M.C. Anderson, winning his fourth Firecracker 400 and his fifth Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta, finishing in the top-ten a total of ten times.^[44] Yarborough competed in sixteen races in1982, winning three, including his hometown Southern 500 for the fifth and final time.^[45] He also ran the1981 24 Hours of Le Mans finishing thirteen laps before a crash ended the team's efforts.^[46]

In1983, Anderson closed his operation, and Yarborough moved to the No. 28Hardee's-sponsored Chevrolet owned byRanier-Lundy, competing in sixteen events. He won four races, including his third Daytona 500, his sixth Atlanta Coca-Cola 500, and swept both events at Michigan, along with three poles.^[47] In1984, he repeated by winning his fourth Daytona 500, becoming the second driver to score back-to-back wins, the Winston 500 at Talladega, a race that featured 75 lead changes, and theVan Scoy Diamond Mine 500, along with four poles.^[48] Yarborough also captured theIROC VIII championship. In 1985, after his team switched to a Ford, he won his firstTalladega 500 and scored his final win in theMiller High Life 500 atCharlotte Motor Speedway.^[49] He also finished eighth in the final standings ofIROC IX.^{[citation needed]}

In1986, Yarborough won his final career pole at the Firecracker 400, and had five top-ten finishes.^[50] He scored a victory at Talladega duringIROC X and finished third in the standings. In1987, he left the Ranier-Lundy team and purchased Jack Beebe's Race Hill Farm team. Yarborough took the Hardee's sponsorship and began running the No. 29Oldsmobile Delta 88 as an owner/driver, posting two top-five finishes.^[51] He ran his final season in1988 in anOldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, entering ten races and posting two ninth-place finishes.^[52] He retired at the end of the year.

In 1972, Yarborough became the firstRepublican elected to theFlorence County Council sinceReconstruction.^[53] During the1976 United States presidential election, he campaigned for his longtime friend,Jimmy Carter.^[54] That year, Yarborough was reelected to the county council, this time as a Democrat.^[55]

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In 1986 Yarborough purchased Jack Beebe's Race Hill Farm team, renaming the team Cale Yarborough Motorsports and running a part-time schedule in 1987 and 1988. During the 1988 season, Yarborough split time in the No. 29 car withDale Jarrett, who took over full-time in 1989 following Yarborough's retirement.

For 1990, Jarrett was replaced byDick Trickle in the renumbered No. 66 car, with backing fromPhillips 66. The team won the pole atDover International Speedway, finishing 24th in points. Multiple drivers raced for Yarborough in 1991, including Trickle,Lake Speed,Dorsey Schroeder,Chuck Bown, andRandy LaJoie.Chad Little,Bobby Hillin, Jr, andJimmy Hensley would all drive the No. 66 in 1992, with Hensley winning Rookie of the Year honors.

In 1993, the team switched to the No. 98 withBojangles' sponsorship andDerrike Cope behind the wheel, finishing 26th in points. Cope began 1994 with sponsorship fromFingerhut, but was replaced byJeremy Mayfield after struggling.

RCA became the team's new primary sponsor in 1995, and Mayfield finished 31st in points despite missing four races. In 1996, Mayfield had two top-five finishes and won the pole atTalladega Superspeedway. Towards the end of the season, Mayfield left to drive forMichael Kranefuss, whose previous driverJohn Andretti moved to the 98, finishing fifth atMartinsville Speedway. Andretti won the team's second pole at Talladega in 1997, and at the1997 Pepsi 400, he led 113 laps and won Yarborough's only race as a car owner.

Despite the win and a 23rd-place points finish, RCA left the sport and Andretti signed withPetty Enterprises. Yarborough signedGreg Sacks to drive his Thorn Apple Valley Ford in 1998, but Sacks suffered a neck injury atTexas Motor Speedway and was unable to race for the rest of the year.Rich Bickle took his place, and had a fourth-place finish at Martinsville. After the season Bickle resigned to drive forTyler Jet Motorsports and Thorn Apple departed due to financial problems within the organization.

Due to the lack of financing, Yarborough originally closed his team, but soon reopened and hiredRick Mast as the driver, with car dealer Wayne Burdett joining as a co-owner. Despite having no primary sponsor, Yarborough and his team ran the full schedule, picking up short-term deals withSonic Drive-In and Hobas Pipe. Soon after, Burdette left the team and the team signedUniversal Studios/Woody Woodpecker as its primary sponsor. Mast posted two top-tens and did not have a DNF all season, the second driver since Yarborough to accomplish that feat. Despite rumors of a second team withMike Ciochetti driving, Mast and Universal both departed following the season. In January 2000, Yarborough closed the team until a buyer could be found.

He sold the team in the summer of 2000 to Chip MacPherson. Renamed MacPherson Motorsports, the team ran 2 races with driversJeff Fuller andGeoffrey Bodine. Both drivers failed to finish the race and finished 41st. Soon afterward, the team disappeared from the Cup circuit.^[56]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

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(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)

24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1981	Stratagraph Inc.	Billy Hagan Bill Cooper	Chevrolet Camaro	IMSA GTO	13	DNF	DNF

Yarborough was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, and theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994,^[97] the Court of Legends at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1996 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998).^[98] In 2009, Yarborough was one of the 25 nominees for the first class to be inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, though he was not selected. In 2010, he was nominated for induction in the second class of the Hall of Fame, and again he failed to make the cut. In 2011, Yarborough finally was elected to the NASCAR HOF.^[99] A stretch of South Carolina Highway 403 through Timmonsville is named Cale Yarborough Highway in his honor.^[100]

In March 2013, Yarborough was inducted into theSouth Carolina Hall of Fame.^[101]

In high school Yarborough was a halfback, then played four years of semi-pro football and was offered a tryout with theWashington Redskins.^{[citation needed]}

Yarborough was married to Betty Jo Thigpen from 1961 and they had three daughters (Julie, Kelley, and B.J.).^[102] He owned Cale Yarborough Honda inFlorence, South Carolina for over 25 years.^{[citation needed]} He later resided in the Sardis neighborhood ofTimmonsville, South Carolina. Yarborough was not related to fellow NASCAR veteranLeeRoy Yarbrough, though they were close friends.

Yarborough died at the McLeod Hospice House in Florence, South Carolina from complications of a rare genetic disorder on December 31, 2023. He was 84.^[103][104]

• "Where Are They Now? Cale Yarborough", Indianapolis Motor Speedway Official Blog

• Bechtel, Mark.He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back: The True Story of the Year the King, Jaws, Earnhardt, and the Rest of NASCAR's Feudin', Fightin' Good Ol' Boys Put Stock Car Racing on the Map, Little, Brown and Company, 2010,ISBN 978-0-316-03402-9.
• Hinton, Ed.Daytona: From the Birth of Speed to the Death of the Man in Black, Warner, 2001,ISBN 978-1-61680-101-4.
• Menzer, Joe.The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation, Wiley, 2009,ISBN 978-0-470-22869-2.
• McGinnis, Joe.They Call Him Cale: The Life and Career of NASCAR Legend Cale Yarborough, Triumph Books, 2008,ISBN 978-1-60078-051-6.
• Yarborough, Cale, with William Neely.Cale: The Hazardous Life and Times of the World's Greatest Stock Car Driver, Times Books, 1986,ISBN 978-0-8129-1261-6.

• Cale Yarborough driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Cale Yarborough owner statistics at Racing-Reference
• Jayski Team 98 News Page at theWayback Machine (archived February 8, 2002)
• "Yarborough anticipates sale of team" at theWayback Machine (archived February 3, 2001)
• "Yarborough Motorsports still afloat" at theWayback Machine (archived February 3, 2001)
• "Yarborough calls it a day" at theWayback Machine (archived November 6, 2001)
• Cale Yarborough atIMDb
• Cale Yarborough discography atDiscogs

• 1939 births
• 2023 deaths
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• County council members in South Carolina
• Farmers from South Carolina
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
• International Race of Champions drivers
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• NASCAR drivers
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• People from Timmonsville, South Carolina
• Racing drivers from South Carolina
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• NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees
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