Cale Yarborough

William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough

In 1969, the Ford Motor Company produced a Cale Yarborough Special Edition Mercury 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 the Mercury 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 the Dan Gurney Special.^[26][27]

1970s

Yarborough continued to drive a limited schedule for the Wood Brothers in

In

1980s

Yarborough won a career-high and modern-era record 14 poles in 1980, 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 to Dale Earnhardt by 19 points.^[41] At the end of the season, Yarborough announced he was leaving the Junior Johnson team and would run a part-time schedule for the rest of his career. He was replaced by Darrell Waltrip.^{[citation needed]} Yarborough won 55 races while driving for Johnson from 1973 to 1980, compiling an amazing winning percentage of 26.57 percent.

Yarborough competed in 18 races in the 1981 season in the No. 27 Valvoline-sponsored Buick for M.C. Anderson, winning his fourth Firecracker 400 and his fifth Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta, finishing in the Top 10 a total of 10 times.^[42] Yarborough competed in 16 races in 1982, winning three, including his hometown Southern 500 for the fifth and final time.^[43] He also ran the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans finishing 13 laps before a crash ended the team's efforts.^{[citation needed]}

In

In 1986, Yarborough won his final career pole at the Firecracker 400, and had five Top 10 finishes.^[47] He scored a victory at Talladega during IROC X and finished third in the standings. In 1987, 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. 29 Oldsmobile Delta 88 as an owner/driver, posting two Top 5 finishes.^[48] He ran his final season in 1988 in an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, entering 10 races and posting two ninth-place finishes.^[49] He retired at the end of the year.

Politics

In 1972, Yarborough became the first Republican elected to the Florence County Council since Reconstruction.^[50] During the 1976 United States presidential election, he campaigned for his longtime friend, Jimmy Carter.^[51] That year, Yarborough was reelected to the county council, this time as a Democrat.^[52]

Ownership

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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 with Dale Jarrett, who took over full-time in 1989 following Yarborough's retirement.

For 1990, Jarrett was replaced by

Despite the win and a 23rd-place points finish, RCA left the sport and Andretti signed with Petty Enterprises. Yarborough signed Greg Sacks to drive his Thorn Apple Valley Ford in 1998, but Sacks suffered a neck injury at Texas 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 for Tyler 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 hired

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

Grand National Series

Winston Cup Series

Daytona 500

Winston West Series

International Race of Champions

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

American open-wheel racing

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car

Indianapolis 500

24 Hours of Le Mans results

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

Legacy

Yarborough was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994,^[94] the Court of Legends at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1996 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998).^[95] 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.^[96] A stretch of South Carolina Highway 403 through Timmonsville is named Cale Yarborough Highway in his honor.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2013, Yarborough was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame.^[97]

Personal life and death

In high school Yarborough was a halfback, then played four years of semi-pro football and was offered a tryout with the

Yarborough was married to Betty Jo Thigpen from 1961 and they had three daughters (Julie, Kelley, and B.J.).[98]He owned Cale Yarborough Honda in Florence, South Carolina for over 25 years.^{[citation needed]} He later resided in the Sardis neighborhood of Timmonsville, South Carolina. Yarborough was not related to fellow NASCAR veteran LeeRoy 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.^[99][100]

General references

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

Citations