Three Time NASCAR Cup Series champ Cale Yarborough, 84, Has Passed
Cale Yarborough, 84, died the final day of 2023 in his native South Carolina. He had been battling a rare genetic disorder, his family said. One of only two drivers to earn three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championships, Yarborough was best known for his infield fight with fellow NASCAR competitor Donnie Allison on the final lap of the 1979 Daytona 500. That race was shown on national television for the first time in NASCAR history and, while the race was won by NASCAR’s all-time win leader Richard Petty, the event is far-better recalled for the tussle between those two drivers after colliding in the oval’s third turn.
Yarborough, whose 1976, 1977 and 1978 consecutive championships tie him with Jimmie Johnson – the latter going on to win five straight titles – is also tied with Johnson on NASCAR’s career win list, with a total of 83 visits to Victory Lane. He was an active driver for more than four decades in NASCAR, starting with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 1957 and ending with his final race on Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1988. Yarborough’s final Cup Series victory came in 1985 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval. He had 319 career Top 10 results and accrued 69 pole positions.
Johnson acknowledged that “Cale Yarborough was my childhood hero. What an honor to be tied with the legend for 83 Cup Series wins. He was ‘the man’ and the legacy of Cale Yarborough will forever live on. My deepest condolences to Cale’s family,” Johnson said on X the final day of this year, posting a photo of his tribute helmet along with his comments.
Yarborough was elected to NASCARs Hall Of Fame in 2012 and, during his induction speech, said he ended his full-time Cup Series participation in 1980 to spend time with his three daughters, feeling he’d completed his journey from the bottom rung of the racing ladder to the top. During his final full-time season, Yarborough won six times and finished second in Cup standings. “I sure hoped I was going to get to this point,” he said after entering NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, “because working in the back of the fields in that hot sun would make you want to do something else. I always dreamed of ending up where I have ended up tonight.”
Cale Yarborough is one of several NASCAR drivers who have extended their racing reach beyond closed-wheel competition. He competed in four Indianapolis 500 races, starting in 1996 when he drove for Rolla Vollstedt, qualifying 24th yet failing to complete a single lap when a first-lap crash collected 11 cars and caused a red-flag delay of nearly 90 minutes. He was credited with 28th place. Yarborough and Vollstedt returned in 1967, finishing 17th and completing 176 laps. His final two Indy 500 starts came in 1971 and 1972, racing with Gene White’s team; he finished 10th in 1972 on a team that included Lloyd Ruby and Sam Sessions.
J. Douglas Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway made this statement: “Cale Yarborough was not just a NASCAR champion and Daytona 500 winner, he was one of the most versatile race car drivers our sport has seen. He qualified for four Indianapolis 500s during one go the race’s most competitive eras,” Boles reminded, “and competed in a season of INDYCAR Series racing – scoring two top-five finishes – in 1971, during the height of his driving career. The fans and drivers at IMS loved his competitive spirit, passion and understanding and appreciation of what racing at Indianapolis means, whether as a driver or team owner. Our sport and our event have lost an icon.”
After retiring from NASCAR, he formed Cale Yarborough Motorsports, which competed in the Cup Series through the 1999 season, with John Andretti bringing the sole victory in NASCAR’s 1997 Pepsi 400 at Daytona Internatiional Speedway.
In addition to his NASCAR Hall of Fame enshrinement, Yarborough was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the South Carolina Hall of Fame. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 and one of its 75 Greatest Drivers this year, NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season.
The son of a tobacco farmer, William Caleb “Cale” Yarborough grew up in a small town outside Timmonsville, South Carolina. He was just 10 years old when his father died in a plane crash. Yarborough was a multiple sport athlete and played semi-professional football for four seasons. His short Golden Gloves boxing career proved a benefit when he and Allison tangled at Daytona in 1979.
Jim France, NASCAR’s chairman and CEO understood that “Cale Yarborough was one of the toughest competitors NASCAR has ever seen,” he said. “His combination o talent, grit and determination separated Cale from his peers, both on the track and in the record book. He was respected and admired by competitors and fans alike, and was as comfortable behind he wheel of a tractor as he was behind the wheel of a stock car. On behalf of the France family and NASCAR, I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Cale Yarborough.”
Yarborough is survived by his wife, Betty Jo, to whom he was married for more than 62 years, as well as their three daughters, Julie, Kelley and B.J. Memorial plans will be revealed at the family’s discretion.