Cale Yarborough, 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, dies at 84

NASCAR announced Sunday that NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Cale Yarborough died at the age of 84.

“Cale Yarborough was one of the toughest competitors NASCAR has ever seen. His combination of 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 the 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,” NASCAR CEO Jim France said.

He competed in NASCAR’s top series for over four decades, ESPN reported.

A cause of death for Yarborough was not immediately known.

“Sad news about the passing of Cale today. A legend behind the wheel for sure, but he had a personality, grit, and swagger that attracted fans around the world to him and to NASCAR. He truly made the sport far better for being a part of it,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Yarborough’s 83 career Cup wins tied him with Jimmie Johnson for sixth on the all-time wins list, according to NASCAR.

“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,” Johnson said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The NASCAR family mourns the loss of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Cale Yarborough, who passed away at the age of 84.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) December 31, 2023

Yarborough was the first driver to win three consecutive series championships, according to NBC Sports. It was between 1976 and 1978. Johnson broke that record in 2006 to 2010 after winning five championships in a row.

He won the Southern 500 five times and Daytona 500 four times, according to NASCAR.

“Somehow, I knew there had to be a better way to make a living than digging around in the dirt and picking tobacco worms off leaves by hand,” Yarborough said in 1988, according to NASCAR.

Yarborough was born on March 27, 1939. He had two younger brothers. According to NASCAR, his family farmed tobacco and cotton, which led him to start driving a tractor by the time he was 9 years old to help with plowing.

When he was 11, his father was killed in a private airplane crash and he started to take on more roles helping to manage his family’s business, “The experience served him well in later years as a farmer, a businessman and a multiple-term member of the Florence County council, but he had designs on a faster-paced career,” NASCAR said.

He won his final race in Charlotte in 1985, according to ESPN. He ended his career three years later in 1988 in Atlanta.

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