Cale Yarborough

Born

March 27, 1939 (age 77)
Timmonsville, South Carolina, U.S.

Achievements

1976, 1977, 1978 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
Holds Sprint Cup Series modern era record for most poles in a season (14 poles in 1980)

Awards

1967 Grand National Series Most Popular Driver
International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee (1993)
National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame Inductee (1994)
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee (1994)
Court of Legends Inductee at Charlotte Motor Speedway (1996)
3-Time National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year (1977, 1978, 1979)
1977 American Driver of the Year
South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame inductee (1978)
Talladega Walk of Fame inductee (1996)
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee (2012)

Monster Energy 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)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
83	319	69

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)

Wins	Top tens	Poles
0	7	0

Statistics current as of April 17, 2013.

William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939), is an American farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships. He was the second NASCAR driver to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (the first was Curtis Turner on the February 26, 1968 issue) His 83 wins place him sixth on the all-time NASCAR Sprint 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 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. In 1984, he became the first driver to qualify for the Daytona 500 with a top speed of more than 200 miles per hour (320 km/h). Yarborough is a three-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year Award (1977, 1978, 1979).

Yarborough was born to Julian and Annie Yarborough in the tiny, unincorporated community of Sardis near Timmonsville, South Carolina, the oldest of three sons. Julian was a tobacco farmer,cotton gin operator, and store owner who was killed in a private airplane crash when Cale was around ten years of age. According to his autobiography Cale, Yarborough attended the second Southern 500 in 1951 as a young spectator without a ticket. Yarborough was a high school football star and played semi-pro football in Columbia, South Carolina for four seasons and was a Golden Gloves boxer. He made his first attempt in the Southern 500 as a teenager by lying about his age, but he was caught and disqualified by NASCAR. In 1957, Yarborough made his debut as a driver at the Southern 500, driving the No. 30 Pontiac for Bob Weatherly, starting 44th and finishing 42nd after suffering hub problems. He ran for Weatherly two years later, and finished 27th. In 1960, Yarborough ran one race, and had his first career top-fifteen, a fourteenth-place finish at Southern States Fairgrounds. He again ran one race in 1961, finishing 30th in the Southern 500 driving for Julian Buesink. In 1962, Yarborough ran eight races for Buesink, Don Harrison, and Wildcat Williams. He earned his first top-ten at the Daytona 500 Qualifying Race, when he finished tenth.

...
Wikipedia