DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Cale Yarborough used to sneak under the fence as a child at Darlington Raceway, planning for the day when he would dominate at the hometown track known as “Too Tough To Tame.”
Yarborough, the Hall of Fame driver who died at age 84 this past New Year’s Eve, soon enough left his mark with a then-record five Southern 500s and a frightening flip over the outside wall in Turn 3 as a young racer in 1965.
“He got out of the car and walked away,” Yarborough’s wife of 62 years, Betty Jo, said this week. “He didn’t say a word about it.”
Yarborough’s NASCAR career will be remembered this weekend at the event he loved more than the others when the Cup Series closes its regular season with the Southern 500.
Yarborough’s name is over the Cup Series garage at the egg-shaped oval that’s stood about 20 minutes from where he grew up in Timmonsville.
Track organizers found Yarborough’s Oldsmobile Cutlass from 1978 that he drove for Junior Johnson on the way to his third straight Cup Series championship, the first to ever accomplish that.
The race car, found in Oklahoma, will be on display this weekend at the track’s Fan Fest area, then will be driven by Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett — who won three times at Darlington, but never the crown jewel Southern 500 — behind the pace car kickoff of Sunday night’s race.
“It’s going to be really special to see Daddy’s car on the track again,” said Yarborough’s daughter, Julie.
NASCAR broadcaster NBC will have a remembrance of Yarborough’s stellar career and the car will remain on display at Darlington’s Stock Car Museum just outside the track for a while, Darlington president Josh Harris said.
Yarborough’s career
Yarborough began racing in the early 1960s and finished with 83 NASCAR victories, tied with Jimmie Johnson for sixth all-time.
Yarborough won his first Southern 500 for the Wood Brothers in 1968, then followed with Darlington wins in 1973, 1974, 1978 and 1982 for a mark that stood until Jeff Gordon won his sixth Southern 500 in 2007.
Yarborough retired as a full-time driver in 1988, but remained a team owner for another decade after that.
Jeff Hammond, a FOX NASCAR broadcaster, was a two-time championship crew chief for Darrell Waltrip who worked on Yarborough’s car in the late 1970s.
Yarborough was a talented driver who put his all into the racing. But when it was time to go home, Yarborough headed the family farm a short drive away.
Some of Hammond’s most cherished times with Yarborough came when the crew wrapped up Saturday’s work and got a free Sunday — the Southern 500 was run on Labor Day from 1950 to 1983 — to spend on Yarborough’s farm dove hunting or talking.
“If we couldn’t put on a show and go to Victory Lane, you felt like you let him down,” Hammond said. “He wanted to come here and go home and see Betty Jo and his family with a big smile on his face because he did his job here and that was win.”
Yarborough’s legacy
Yarborough’s toughness on and off the track was never in doubt. That was on display at the 1979 Daytona 500 when he fought with the Allison brothers, Donnie and Bobby.
The incident was shown by CBS TV and was a fascinating sidelight to Richard Petty’s Daytona win that day. But when it was over, Yarborough might be seen the next race or two joking with the Allisons.
“Back then, racers like Cale did not hold on to grudges like we might see today,” Hammond said.
Bubba Wallace remembers racing for Petty’s team and listening to the King and his longtime crew chief Dale Inman share stories of Yarborough and other pioneers during NASCAR’s founding years.
“It’s pretty special to hear and see how much the sport has evolved and changed,” Wallace said. “From scheduling, to fans, to whatever it is, it’s definitely nice to take a trip down memory lane.”
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