NASCAR Legend Cale Yarborough Dead at 84

NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough has died at the age of 84, NASCAR President and CEO Jim France confirmed via statement published on social networks on Sunday.

“Cale Yarborough was one of the strongest competitors NASCAR has ever seen,” France said in a statement. His combination of talent, grit and determination separated Cale from his peers on the track and in the record books. He was respected and admired by competitors and fans alike, and he felt just as comfortable behind the wheel of a tractor as he did behind the wheel of a production car.”

“On behalf of the French family and NASCAR, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Cale Yarborough,” the statement concluded.

According to New York Postreports of Yarburough’s deteriorating health began to emerge in April.

NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough was kissed by a young race sponsor representative in Victory Lane in 1981.

Robert Alexander/Getty

Yarborough was one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history and was the first to win three consecutive NASCAR Cup titles in 1976, 1977 and 1978, according to ESPN. He held the title until Jimmie Johnson ended his five-game winning streak in 2010.

He also won the Daytona 500 four times and won the Southern 500 four times during his career at his home track in Darlington, South Carolina.

Born William Caleb Yarborough in Sardis, South Carolina, on March 27, 1939, he was the son of a tobacco farmer. Yarborough made his NASCAR debut in 1957 at the Southern 500 and ended his career more than three decades later at Atlanta in 1988. He is currently tied with Johnson for the most career wins in NASCAR history with 83.

NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough.

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Yarborough is perhaps best known for the incident in the race he lost.

In 1979, he drove the first Daytona 500 to be televised in its entirety, racing against Donnie Allison on the final lap when both lost control of their cars and spun off the track. Both walked away unharmed. But Allison’s brother, co-driver Bobby Allison, who was watching from the sidelines, walked up to Yarborough and started a fist fight.

Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 that year, but the race went down in history because of the fight.

“I had the fastest car and set it up so I could target it on the last lap. That might have been a mistake on my part. Maybe I should have gone ahead and passed him, gone ahead and won the race easily,” Yarborough later said of the race, according to The New York Times. “I was trying to make a show out of it. Unfortunately, it really turned out to be a show. It was one of the best things that ever happened in NASCAR.”

He reportedly reconciled with the Allisons the next day.

Yarborough is survived by three daughters.

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