Cale Yarborough Motorsports facts for kids

Cale Yarborough Motorsports was a NASCAR racing team that competed in the Winston Cup Series. The team raced from 1987 until 2000. During its time, the team achieved some impressive results. They earned one race win, 13 top-five finishes, 32 top-ten finishes, and three pole positions.

Team History

Cale Yarborough Motorsports was founded by the famous NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough. In 1986, Cale bought the Race Hill Farms team. He wanted to drive part-time himself. He changed the car number from 47 to 29.

Early Years (1987-1991)

In 1988, Cale Yarborough shared the No. 29 car with Dale Jarrett. Jarrett had one top-ten finish that year. After Cale retired from driving, Jarrett became the full-time driver in 1989. He achieved two top-five finishes.

The team's sponsor, Hardee's, left at the end of 1989. Phillips 66/TropArtic became the new sponsor. The car number also changed to No. 66. Dick Trickle took over as the driver. In 1990, Trickle earned two top-five finishes. He also won his only career pole position at Dover International Speedway. Trickle started the 1991 season with the team. However, he left after four races.

Lake Speed then took over as driver. He had three top-ten qualifying efforts. Even after an eleventh-place finish, Speed left the team. Other drivers like Dorsey Schroeder, Chuck Bown, and Randy LaJoie finished the 1991 season.

Mid-Years and First Win (1992-1997)

In 1992, Cale Yarborough hired Chad Little to drive. After six races, Little was replaced. Bobby Hillin Jr. drove one race. Then Jimmy Hensley took over for the rest of the season. Hensley had four top-ten finishes. He also won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award.

For 1993, the team switched to the No. 98 Ford Thunderbird. Bojangles' became the new sponsor. Derrike Cope was the driver. Cope finished eighth at Talladega Superspeedway. In 1994, Cope started with Fingerhut sponsorship. But he was replaced by Jeremy Mayfield due to a lack of top-ten finishes.

RCA became the team's main sponsor in 1995. Mayfield had an eighth-place finish at Pocono Raceway. In 1996, Mayfield earned two top-five finishes. He also won the pole position at the DieHard 500. Later that year, Mayfield left the team.

John Andretti then joined Cale Yarborough Motorsports. He finished fifth at Martinsville Speedway. In 1997, Andretti won the pole at Talladega. At the Pepsi 400, he led 113 laps. He then won the race, which was Cale Yarborough's only win as a car owner.

The No. 98 car in 1997.

Later Years and Closure (1998-2000)

Even with the win, RCA left the team. Andretti also signed with another team. Cale Yarborough then signed Greg Sacks to drive in 1998. Sacks got a neck injury and could not race for the rest of the year. Rich Bickle took his place. Bickle had three top-five qualifying runs. He also finished fourth at Martinsville.

Bickle left the team at the end of 1998. The team also lost its sponsor. Cale Yarborough nearly closed the team. But he reopened it and hired Rick Mast as the driver. Wayne Burdett joined as a co-owner. The team ran the full season without a main sponsor at first. They got short-term deals with Sonic Drive-In and Hobas Pipe.

Later, Burdette left the team. Universal Studios/Woody Woodpecker became the main sponsor. Rick Mast had two top-ten finishes that year. He also finished every race without a DNF (Did Not Finish). This was a great achievement.

In 2000, Mast left the team. Universal also left. Cale Yarborough tried to sell the team. But no deals worked out. In January 2000, he closed the team. He finally sold it in the summer of 2000. The new owner, Chip MacPherson, debuted the team at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Jeff Fuller drove the car. But he finished 41st due to engine problems. Geoffrey Bodine drove one more race later that year. The team then disappeared from the Cup series.

Images for kids

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  The No. 98 car in 1997.