ROBERT YATES 1943-2017

A FAMED TEAM OWNER AND engine builder in NASCAR, Robert Yates died last week at the age of 74.

Yates began his NASCAR career at Holman-moody Racing in 1968 before landing a job at Junior Johnson’s team in 1971. His engines powered Bobby Allison’s and Cale Yarborough’s successes, including Allison’s 1983 Cup title with Digard Racing.

In late 1988 Yates launched his own Robert Yates Racing team. Davey Allison (son of Bobby) won the ’92 Daytona 500 and finished third in that season’s standings. RYR expanded to a two-car team in ’96 with Dale Jarrett and Ernie Irvan, and won that year’s Daytona 500 with Jarrett. Three years later Jarrett claimed what would be the only Cup title for a Yates driver, followed up with another Daytona 500 victory in 2000.

Yates’s drivers won 57 Cup races, and NASCAR paid tribute to his success: “His excellence spanned decades, from the 1983 championship powered by his engines and the ’99 title captured by the cars he owned, both of which helped earn him a deserved spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

And though he was a master at his craft, it was Robert’s passion and character that endeared him to every single person he encountered.”

Yates’s son Doug took over RYR on his father’s retirement at the end of 2007. While the team was later merged into Richard Petty Motorsports, Yates Jr remains one of NASCAR’S top engine builders.