Cale Yarborough in His Own Words

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I recently stumbled upon a book you all should read. There are several others out there by other authors, but as far as I know, there is only one by Cale in his own words. The book has a Forward by William Neely. The Copyright is 1986 and published by Time Books, a division of Random House of Canada. It is likely to be very hard to find. I have had the book for years, but unfortunately, I never found time to read it until this past winter. If you are looking for a book that tells you how great a driver Cale Yarborough was or the details of the races he won, this is not for you. Cale wanted to tell you about the trials and tribulations he experienced in his life. Fear not, the central theme of the book is how he became one of the best in NASCAR.

Here are some things Cale discussed in the book, other than racing. He grew up very poor, and his father was his idol, but died young, leaving Cale to grow up without his guidance. However, he was guided by what he felt his father would do. Before he was a famous and successful NSCAR star and Champion, he was struck by lightning, fell out of an airplane, and bitten by a rattlesnake! He ran a saw mill, had a pet lion, a circus, and so much more.

When Cale started, he was driving race cars that he built from junk. It was on small dirt tracks around his home in Timmonsville, SC. In those days, the 50s and 60s, NASCAR, the drivers, and the cars had little resemblance to what passes for racing today. Cale grew up racing against some of the best of the early days, Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts (his best friend), Little Joe Weatherly, and Tiny Lund (another very close friend). He went on to race with all the stars of the day right up until his retirement.

Cale had a very special place in his heart for the days he raced for the Wood Brothers and had a particular fondness for Ford/Mercury race cars. If you are reading this, you also know Ford Corporate was very fond of Cale. Our Cale Yarborough Spoilers and Spoiler IIs are a prime example. Some of the interesting parts of the book deal with Cale and David Pearson. Both were Ford/Mercury drivers at the sametime and both drove for the Wood Brothers, although at different times.

I don’t want to tell you too much about all that Cale had to say. He was not afraid to say it the way it was. He was obviously secure in his own racing capabilities and proud of his wins and successes. As poor as he started, he became a very successful businessman, loving husband, and father.

Cale has always been one of my favorite drivers. I saw him race several times, including wins and wrecks at Daytona. I have owned several Cale Yarborough Spoilers. I have spoken with him by phone and have a helmet with his autograph. I only wish more drivers today were like him and his peers.