by Rex Coker

Created on: April 18, 2008   Last Updated: November 24, 2008

In the mist of early morning fog along the fields of Sardis you could hear the rumblings of a race car engine. Breaking the morning silence as farmers made their way to tobacco and cotton fields, that surrounded the Yarborough home.

His success as a Nascar driver had given him and his family the lush home they had always dreamed of early in his career. A five car garage and a home with over five thousand square feet of living space. Cale and his lovely family had made the big time but it was not with out struggle and sacrifice.

William Caleb Yaborough was born in Timmonsville, South Carolina on March 27, 1940. Timmonsville a little one red light town in Florence, South Carolina was the home of a champion Nascar driver. He was a local legend and his popularity followed him. He started his career in racing in 1957. Cale ran one of forty three races that season and did not complete but 42.6 miles of the race.

His first top ten finish came at Daytona in 1964. It was the start of his climb to the top. He drove for the Wood Brothers in 1968 and won one championship with them before changing to the Junior Johnson team in 1977. He would win three consecutive back to back to back championships from 1976 through 1978. He was the only driver in Nascar history to achieve this feat.

He has established himself in to the Stock car Hall Of Fame and sits fifth on the all time winners list behind Bobby Allison and Darrel Waltrip. His record of 83 victories with four Daytona wins has placed him at the top of the elite list with many other top named drivers.

Cale was the first driver to qualify at a speed of over 200 mph at Daytona. His career had many fantastic wins. Cale went own to become a driver owner in his last few years of racing. His best finishes as a driver owner was two ninth place finishes in 1988.

He will always be best known for his rumble with the Allison brothers on the infield part of the track at Daytona. A heated exchange of words followed by a fist fight with brother Donnie also getting involved.

Many ventures and investments cost Cale money as he ventured in to the chicken raising. He lost a lot of money and later moved on to start a Honda dealership in Timmonsville. He has starred on the Dukes of Hazzard and in the movie "Stroker Ace".

Cale has never been a man to sit idle for long and even tried his hand at Indy car racing in the sixties. Four starts at the famed track with only one ninth place finish his final year.

I am sure if you ride by his farm in Sardis you can still see him riding his tractor around the fields of his home. He has a few cows and horses he tends to now to pass the time. He still attends special events that Nascar holds during the year. He may have retired from the thing he loved most but his fans still cherish the memories he left us with.

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