Cale Yarborough: Fierce competitor and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, dies at age 84

Cale Yarborough died at the McLeod Hospice House in Florence, South Carolina on December 31, 2023. He was 84 years old at the time of his death.

William Caleb “Cale” Yarborough was born on March 27, 1939, in Timmonsville, South Carolina, United States of America. Cale Yarborough was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, farmer, and rancher.

In 1957, Cale Yarborough made his debut as a driver at the Southern 500, driving the No. 30 Pontiac for Bob Weatherly, starting 44th and finishing 42nd.

Cale Yarborough was a three-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year Award (1977, 1978, 1979). Yarborough won a career-high and modern-era record 14 poles in 1980.

Cale Yarborough won two races in 1967 at the Atlanta 500 and the Firecracker 400 for the Wood Brothers. Yarborough competed in 16 races in 1982, winning three, including his hometown Southern 500 for the fifth and final time.

In 1962, Cale Yarborough ran eight races for Buesink, Don Harrison, and Wildcat Williams, earning his first top ten at the Daytona 500 Qualifying Race when he finished tenth.