Darlington, South Carolina. You’d be hard pressed to find it on a map; but say the name, and instantly a flurry of iconic imagery comes flooding forward; Cale Yarborough sailing out of the track over the guardrail; Richard Petty hanging halfway out of the window of his battered Plymouth as it tumbles down the frontstretch; …
Excuses, excuses. Everyone loves a good excuse, and this week, in the wake of Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying third straight Sprint Cup championship, I think I’ve heard them all. There are excuses why Johnson’s accomplishment isn’t as valid as Cale Yarborough’s was when he took three titles in a row in 1976-1978, compared to reasons why …
Who… gets my shoutout of the race? It’s not every day you get this prestigious honor for finishing 15th, but Jimmie Johnson earns it by way of becoming the second driver in history to win three consecutive Cup championships, tying the mark set three decades ago by his boyhood hero, Cale Yarborough. The title is also …
In the wake of a seemingly inevitable third straight title for Jimmie Johnson and crew, John Close at CloseFinishes.com recently compared Johnson to the only other driver in the history of the sport to achieve that feat, the mighty Cale Yarborough. It’s a natural comparison to make, but Close was the first I saw to …
If you come to this website looking for a bunch of happy, fluffy, feel good articles about NASCAR and some of its more colorful characters, my writings are probably not your first stop. Even if I do write about some happy, fluffy, feel-good subject (albeit rare), it is still done in my usual, opinionated manner. …
10. Kumquats to Apples. 9. Mick Jagger’s lips to Angelina Jolie’s. 8. Store bought tomatoes to homegrown. 7. Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. 6. Hillary Clinton to Nancy Reagan. 5. Mike Tyson to Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali, for you younger folk). 4. Tony Stewart’s body to Brad Pitt’s. 3. A Big Mac to a Hardee’s …
My first week in the States, I watched a “Beyond the Glory” program which focused on NFL quarterback Kurt Warner. Not knowing his story – remember, I’m a transplanted Brit – I was mesmerized by Warner’s meteoric rise from shelf stacker to Super Bowl MVP. Whether you like the guy or not, it would be …
William Caleb Yarborough was born the son of a tobacco farmer on March 27, 1939, just outside of Darlington, S.C.
The 1981 Daytona 500 marked the debut of the “little” cars, with a 110-inch wheelbase as opposed to the 115 inches on the reliable Monte Carlos and Cutlasses.
Richard Petty and David Pearson arrived at Daytona Beach in February of 1976 with some unsettled business.
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