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William Caleb Yarborough (March 27, 1939 – December 31, 2023) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, farmer, and rancher. He was the first driver 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 Series events. His fame was such that a special model of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was named after him.
His 83 wins tie him with Jimmie Johnson for sixth on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series winner's list (behind Bobby Allison, who has 85 and Darrell Waltrip, who has 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.
Yarborough drove for Banjo Matthews at the beginning of 1966. Despite two consecutive second-place finishes, he left the team early in the season and ended the year driving the No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers. He won two races in 1967 at the Atlanta 500 and the Firecracker 400 for the Wood Brothers, but dropped to twentieth in standings because he only ran seventeen races. Yarborough also ran the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and 1967 driving Vollstedt-Fords. After running the season-opening Middle Georgia 500 for Bud Moore Engineering, finishing 21st, Yarborough ran the rest of the season for the Wood Brothers, winning his first Daytona 500 in a duel with LeeRoy Yarbrough, the Firecracker 400, which made him the second driver in history to sweep both Daytona events, and his first Southern 500 garnering a total of six wins that season. Running a limited schedule, he finished 17th in points. The next season, he won his third straight Atlanta 500 along with the first NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway the Motor State 500 and six pole positions.
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.
The next 3 years would be Cale Yarborough's time to shine. In 1976, 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. The 1977 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 over Richard Petty. 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 in IROC IV, finishing second in the standings. In 1978, his team switched to and received new sponsorship from Citigroup. He matched his previous career high of 10 wins from 1974, including leading every lap of the Music City USA 420, his fourth Southern 500 and first Winston 500 at Talladega, and went on to win his third consecutive NASCAR Winston Cup championship (clinching it at the American 500). Cale Yarborough became the very first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships. 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. Richard Petty clinched the 1975 championship with four races to go. In IROC V he captured one victory, finishing fourth in the standings.
Yarborough began the 1979 season with Busch Beer sponsorship and getting into a fight with Donnie Allison and Bobby 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. Yarborough went on to finish fourth in the standings, winning four races, including the Coca-Cola 500 at Pocono Raceway and the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, one pole, and finishing third in the IROC VI standings.
Yarborough competed in eighteen 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-ten a total of ten times. Yarborough competed in sixteen races in 1982, winning three, including his hometown Southern 500 for the fifth and final time. He also ran the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans finishing thirteen laps before a crash ended the team'
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In 1983, Anderson closed his operation, and Yarborough moved to the No. 28 Hardee's-sponsored Chevrolet owned by Ranier-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. In 1984, 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 the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500, along with four poles. Yarborough also captured the IROC VIII championship. In 1985, after his team switched to a Ford, he won his first Talladega 500 and scored his final win in the Miller High Life 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also finished eighth in the final standings of IROC IX.
In 1986, Yarborough won his final career pole at the Firecracker 400, and had five top-ten finishes. 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-five finishes. He ran his final season in 1988 in an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, entering ten races and posting two ninth-place finishes. He retired at the end of the year.
For 1990, Jarrett was replaced by Dick Trickle in the renumbered No. 66 car, with backing from Phillips 66. The team won the pole at Dover International Speedway, finishing 24th in points. Multiple drivers raced for Yarborough in 1991, including Trickle, Lake Speed, Dorsey Schroeder, Chuck Bown, and Randy LaJoie. Chad Little, Bobby Hillin, Jr, and Jimmy 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 with Bojangles' sponsorship and Derrike Cope behind the wheel, finishing 26th in points. Cope began 1994 with sponsorship from Fingerhut, but was replaced by Jeremy 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 at Talladega Superspeedway. Towards the end of the season, Mayfield left to drive for Michael Kranefuss, whose previous driver John Andretti moved to the 98, finishing fifth at Martinsville Speedway. Andretti won the team's second pole at Talladega in 1997, and at the 1997 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 with Petty Enterprises. Yarborough signed Greg Sacks to drive his Thorn Apple Valley Ford in 1998, but Sacks suffered a neck injury at Texas 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 Rick 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 with Sonic Drive-In and Hobas Pipe. Soon after, Burdette left the team and the team signed Universal 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 with Mike 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 drivers Jeff Fuller and Geoffrey Bodine. Both drivers failed to finish the race and finished 41st. Soon afterward, the team disappeared from the Cup circuit.
| 1962 | Julian Buesink | Ford | 21 | 48 |
| 1963 | DNQ | |||
| 1964 | Herman Beam | Ford | 22 | 17 |
| 1965 | Gary Weaver | Ford | 32 | 9 |
| 1966 | Banjo Matthews | Ford | 19 | 2 |
| 1967 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 8 | 39 |
| 1968 | Mercury | 1 | 1 | |
| 1969 | Ford | 5 | 38 | |
| 1970 | Mercury | 1 | 37 | |
| 1971 | Ray Fox | Plymouth | 13 | 33 |
| 1972 | 16 | 6 | ||
| 1973 | Howard & Egerton Racing | Chevrolet | 3 | 22 |
| 1974 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1975 | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 6 | 3 |
| 1976 | 14 | 42 | ||
| 1977 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 1978 | Oldsmobile | 1 | 2 | |
| 1979 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1980 | 5 | 19 | ||
| 1981 | M.C. Anderson Racing | Oldsmobile | 29 | 8 |
| 1982 | Buick | 3 | 2 | |
| 1983 | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Pontiac | 8 | 1 |
| 1984 | Chevrolet | 1 | 1 | |
| 1985 | Ford | 2 | 36 | |
| 1986 | 13 | 27 | ||
| 1987 | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 22 | 10 |
| 1988 | 32 | 38 | ||
| 1966 ! nowrap | Jim Robbins ! nowrap | Vollstedt 65 ! nowrap | Ford 255 ci V8 | PHX | Trenton Speedway | INDY 28 | MIL | LAN | ATL | PPR | IRP DNS | LAN | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | Trenton Speedway | SAC | PHX | !style="background:#CFCFFF;" NC !style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 0 | |||||
| 1967 ! nowrap | Vollstedt Enterprises ! nowrap | Vollstedt 67 ! nowrap | Ford 255 ci V8 | PHX | Trenton Speedway | INDY 17 | MIL | LAN | PPR | Mosport Park | Mosport Park | IRP | LAN | MTR | MTR | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | Trenton Speedway | SAC | HAN | PHX | RSD !style="background:#CFCFFF;" | NC !style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 0 |
| 1971 ! nowrap | Gene White Co ! nowrap | Mongoose 71 ! nowrap | Ford 159ci V8Turbocharger | RAF 8 | RAF 8 | PHX 13 | Trenton Speedway 5 | INDY 16 | MIL DNQ | POC 32 | MCH 5 | MIL 8 | ONT 14 | Trenton Speedway 11 | PHX DNQ | !style="background:#CFCFFF;" 16th !style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 710 | |||||||||
| 1972 ! nowrap | Gene White Co ! nowrap | Atlanta 72 ! nowrap | Ford 159ci V8Turbocharger | PHX | Trenton Speedway | INDY 10 | MIL | MCH | POC | MIL | ONT | Trenton Speedway | PHX | !style="background:#CFCFFF;" 28th !style="background:#CFCFFF;" | 150 |
| 1966 | Vollstedt | Ford | 24 | 28 | Jim Robbins |
| 1967 | Vollstedt | Ford | 20 | 17 | Vollstedt Enterprises |
| 1971 | Mongoose | Ford | 14 | 16 | Gene White Co |
| 1972 | Atlanta | Ford | 32 | 10 | Gene White Co |
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In March 2013, Yarborough was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame.
Yarborough was married to Betty Jo Thigpen from 1961 and they had three daughters (Julie, Kelley, and B.J.). He owned Cale Yarborough Honda in Florence, South Carolina for over 25 years. 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.
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