Cale Yarborough
William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (March 27, 1939 – December 31, 2023) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, farmer, and rancher. He was one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1976, 1977, and 1978. He was one of the preeminent stock car drivers from the 1960s to the 1980s and also competed in IndyCar events. His fame was such that a special model of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was named after him.
| Cale Yarborough | |||||||
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Yarborough in 2008 | |||||||
| Born | March 27, 1939 Timmonsville, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | December 31, 2023 (aged 84) Florence, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Achievements | 1976, 1977, 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion 1984 IROC Champion 1968, 1977, 1983, 1984 Daytona 500 Winner 1968, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1982 Southern 500 Winner 1978, 1984 Winston 500 Winner 1985 Talladega 500 Winner Holds Winston Cup Series modern era record for most poles in a season (14 poles in 1980) | ||||||
| Awards | 1967 NASCAR Grand National Series Most Popular Driver International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1993) National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1994) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1994) Court of Legends at Charlotte 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 of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2012) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup 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 | 1985 Miller High Life 500 (Charlotte) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Grand National East Series career | |||||||
| 8 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 13th (1973) | ||||||
| First race | 1972 Sandlapper 200 (Columbia) | ||||||
| Last race | 1973 Buddy Shuman 100 (Hickory) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of December 31, 2023. | |||||||
His 83 wins tie him with Jimmie Johnson for sixth on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series winner's list (behind Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, who are tied for fourth with 84). His 14.82% winning percentage is the ninth best of all-time and third among those with 500 or more starts. Yarborough won the Daytona 500 four times; his first win coming in 1968 for the Wood Brothers, the second in 1977 for Junior Johnson, and back-to-back wins in 1983 and 1984 for Ranier-Lundy Racing. Yarborough was a three-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year Award (1977, 1978, 1979). After retiring, he owned Cale Yarborough Motorsports and several successful agricultural businesses as well as being a rancher and farmer himself on his own ranch at his home in Florence, South Carolina.