Robert Yates (NASCAR)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

James Robert Yates (April 19, 1943 – October 2, 2017) was an American
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
engine builder and former owner of the Sprint Cup Series team
Yates Racing Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...
, owned since 2007 by his son Doug. He purchased the team from Harry Ranier in 1988, with driver
Davey Allison David Carl "Davey" Allison (February 25, 1961 – July 13, 1993) was an American NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, ...
. In 2018, Yates was inducted into the
NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame and Museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina that honors NASCAR and its history. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs ...
.


Biography

The son of Rev. John Clyde Yates, he grew up as one of nine children in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
. He has a twin brother, Richard. As a youth, he raced his own dragster in the late 1950s. During his formative years, he moved to
Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Wake and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601, up from 30,117 in ...
to live with his sister's family. In 1961, he graduated from Wake Forest High School a straight-A student. In 1964, Yates graduated from Wilson Technical College in North Carolina, earning a degree in mechanical engineering. Yates joined
Holman-Moody Holman-Moody is an American racecar manufacturer, marine engine manufacturer and former auto racing team. The company currently operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, but is no longer a race team. Holman-Moody continues to manufacture racing ...
in 1968 as head of the air gauge department, and two years later, he was hired by
Junior Johnson Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner as well as an entrepreneur. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career befor ...
to manage his team's engine department. From 1976 to 1986, Yates was at
DiGard Motorsports DiGard Racing was a championship-winning race team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series that had its most success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The team won the 1983 Winston Cup championship with Bobby Allison at the wheel. The team was starte ...
, where he was chief engine builder. During that time,
Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...
won the
NASCAR Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
title in
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
. He left DiGard in 1986 to work on the development of synthetic fuels and, in the same year, returned to NASCAR as general manager of Ranier-Lundy Racing in August of that year. In 1988, Robert Yates acquired the team to form
Robert Yates Racing Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...
. He died of cancer October 2, 2017. The following year in 2018, Yates was inducted into the
NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame and Museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina that honors NASCAR and its history. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs ...
.


Team history


Races

The team finished second in its first race, the 1988
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
, being edged by Allison's father and NASCAR legend
Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...
.


1991

In 1991, Larry McReynolds (now a NASCAR analyst with Fox Sports) joined Yates Racing as crew chief and led Davey Allison to five victories. In 1992, Yates Racing started the season with Allison winning the Daytona 500, joining his father Bobby, a three time Daytona 500 winner. The win also put the Allisons in an exclusive club, joining
Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...
and
Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...
and later Dale Earnhardt Sr. and
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...
as the only father/son winners of the Daytona 500.


1992

In 1992 Allison again had another dominant year winning five races again, despite a broken hand suffered at Pocono in June and a cracked rib. Allison also experienced a personal tragedy in August when his brother Clifford was killed in the Busch Series race at
Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...
. Going into the last race at Atlanta all Allison had to do was finish sixth or better to clinch the Winston Cup title, but a collision with
Ernie Irvan Virgil Earnest Irvan (born January 13, 1959), occasionally referred to as Swervin' Irvan, is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A retired NASCAR competitor, he is perhaps best remembered for his comeback after a serious head ...
on the 251st lap damaged Allison's car and knocked him from contention. Allison completed 34 more laps and was running at the finish. With Allison eliminated from title contention it was down to a two-man race between Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki, Elliott won the race, but Kulwicki led one more lap than Elliott to win the title by ten points. Allison would finish third in the final points standings.


1993

In 1993 the team struggled, although Allison did win the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond in March. They then experienced tragedy as Allison was killed in a helicopter crash in July. Ernie Irvan, who was driving for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, wanted to replace his friend and after several weeks Yates was able to bring him aboard. With Irvan behind the wheel the team won at Martinsville in a car set up by Allison, the team also won at Charlotte in the Mello Yello 500 when Irvan led all but six of the race's 334 laps.


1994

In 1994 the team got off to a fast start with Irvan finishing second to
Sterling Marlin Sterling Burton Marlin (born June 30, 1957) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, winning the Daytona 500 in 1994 and 1995. He ...
(which was Marlin's first win in 276 races) at the Daytona 500, two weeks later Irvan won at Richmond just like Allison did the year before, Irvan would follow that win up a week later by winning the Puralator 500 at Atlanta. In May 1994 the team won at
Sonoma, California Sonoma () is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma' ...
. In August Irvan came within ten laps of winning the Inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, before cutting a tire and handing the race to Jeff Gordon. Irvan was in contention for the Winston Cup title before he was critically injured in practice crash at Michigan a week later. Kenny Wallace finished out the year in the No. 28
Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1955 to 2005, with a hiatus from 1998 to 2001. Ultimately gaining a broadly used colloquial nickname, the ''T-Bird'', Ford Introduce ...
.


1995

With the team in need of a full-time replacement while Irvan was sidelined, Yates brought
Dale Jarrett Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is an American former race car driver and current racing commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series ...
from
Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...
to drive the #28. Jarrett won at Pocono in July. In October Irvan returned to the track driving a second Yates car No. 88 in a race at North Wilkesboro, N.C. Irvan led six laps and finished sixth.


Expansion

In 1996 Yates expanded to two full-time teams with Irvan back behind the wheel of the No. 28 Ford and Dale Jarrett driving the No. 88 car. The new team wasted no time showing its muscle with Jarrett, under the leadership of rookie crewchief Todd Parrott won the Busch Clash at Daytona and the Daytona 500. Irvan secured the outside pole for the Daytona 500 alongside Dale Earnhardt Sr. who was in his eighteenth attempt to win the Daytona 500. Irvan also won his Gatorade Twin 125 Qualifying Race. Jarrett also won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Brickyard 400 and at Michigan in August and finished third in the final Winston Cup points standings behind Hendrick Motorsports teammates
Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is an American former stock car racing, stock car driver. He raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NAS ...
(the Champion) and
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...
.


Later years

Yates was given his first championship as a NASCAR owner in 1999 with Dale Jarrett. His engines had won championships with him as an engine builder before, notably
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
with
Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...
and
DiGard Motorsports DiGard Racing was a championship-winning race team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series that had its most success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The team won the 1983 Winston Cup championship with Bobby Allison at the wheel. The team was starte ...
, and also with
Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...
. After that season the team began to slump a little. Eddie D'Hondt joined the team as Manager after leaving
Evernham Motorsports Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...
and the team seemed to be heading in the right direction with the hiring of Mike Ford. Ford hired several key members including Russ Salerno, as his Pit Crew Coordinator. Shortly after that RYR found itself with a team that was improving and becoming a contender again.
Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...
joined Robert Yates Racing for the
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
season and won two races for Yates in 2004. As of July 2007, Yates' last win was with Dale Jarrett at
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...
in October 2005. Yates retired as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Team Owner after 2007, giving
Yates Racing Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has offici ...
to his son, Doug. In 2010 he came out of retirement to form a new company, Robert Yates Racing Engines, with his son-in-law Chris Davy as his partner. On May 24, 2017, Yates was voted into the
NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame and Museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina that honors NASCAR and its history. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs ...
's Class of 2018. In November 2016, Yates began undergoing treatment for liver cancer. Yates said he was told by a doctor in early August to gather his family and make plans for hospice because “you’re done in four weeks.” Four hours later, Yates’ future looked much better. Another doctor told Yates that the terminal diagnosis was wrong. “I need both doctors, but I need a little cheerleading, too,’’ said the 74-year-old former team owner. On October 2, 2017, Yates died due to liver cancer. In 2018, Yates was inducted into the
NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame and Museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina that honors NASCAR and its history. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs ...
.


References


External links


Robert Yates Racing Engines

YATES RACING team page
at fordracing.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Robert 1943 births 2017 deaths NASCAR team owners Businesspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Deaths from liver cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in North Carolina 20th-century American businesspeople NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees