| Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough (born September 17, 1938 in Jacksonville, Florida, died December 7, 1984) was a NASCAR auto driver. He had one of the greatest seasons in racing history in 1969, when he won seven races, tallied 21 Top Ten finishes and earned $193,211. During his entire career from 1960-1972, he competed in 198 races, scoring 11 wins, 65 top fives, 92 top tens, and 11 poles. His racing number was 98.
Yarbrough was admitted to a mental institution in the mid-1970's, and died in 1984 after a fall while suffering from Cranio Cerebral Trauma.
In 1990, he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
Growing Up Dreaming Big
LeeRoy grew up on the rough side of Jacksonville, Florida, and developed an affinity for speed at an early age. When he was 12, Yarbrough put together his first car, a 1934 Ford coupe with a Chrysler engine. He gave the local cops fits when he was a teenager. When he was 19, Yarbrough found his way to a local dirt track to ventilate his lust for speed. Amazingly, Yarbrough won the very first race he ever ran at Jacksonville Speedway in the spring of 1957.
At The Sportsman Division
Yarbrough started his racing career in the lower tier Sportsman division. After winning 11 races, Yarbrough moved up to the more powerful Modifieds and won 83 features in a three-year span.
Into The Big Boys of NASCAR
A skillful driver, Yarbrough became an instant success. He won two short-track races in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National season, the first year he competed in more than 14 races. 2 years later, Yarbrough scored his first super-speedway win at Charlotte. Driving an unsponsored and lightly regarded Dodge Charger owned by Jon Thorne, Yarbrough dominated the race, leading for 450 of the 500 miles in the October 16 National 500. Factory-backed rides followed, and Yarbrough responded accordingly. Despite the myriad tribulations that beset his Junior Johnson Ford team early in the 1968 season, LeeRoy rebounded and won at Atlanta and Trenton. Having tasted success, he was energized to tackle the challenge of the 1969 NASCAR Grand National season.
1969
Yarbrough had a flair for the dramatic. In the 1969 Daytona 500, Yarbrough found himself trailing Charlie Glotzbach by 11 seconds with 10 laps remaining. He slashed his way through the slower traffic and drew in on the leader. On the final lap, Yarbrough ducked to the low side to make the Decisive pass, but a lapped car loomed in his path. In an impressive display of courage and skill, Yarbrough dived to the low side in turn 3 to clear the lapped car, nearly clipping the apron. He took the lead from Glotbach and dashed under the checkered flag a car length in front. The passion he brought to the fight had elevated Yarbrough to the top echelon of his profession. He was the Daytona 500 champion, but he was not finished. Next, he won Darlington's Rebel 400 in the final 4 laps, then won Charlotte's World 600, lapping the entire field at least twice. He also bagged the summer 400-miler at Daytona, prevailing in a tense late-race struggle with Buddy Baker. Yarbrough won the summer race at Atlanta International Raceway despite a 102-degree fever. He captured The Southern 500 by passing David Pearson on the last lap. He won by a full lap at Rockingham in October, overcoming a lap deficit when a flat tire sent him into the wall. He also competed in the second of his three (also 1967, 1970) Indianapolis 500s that year, qualifying 8th but falling out after a mechanical problem on lap 66. By season's end, Yarbrough had 7 wins to his credit and was named American Driver of The year.
After the Glory of 1969
After his sparkling 1969 season, Yarbrough’s performance record tailed off. A victim of the factory withdrawal, Yarbrough had to scramble to locate rides in Grand National events. He won only once in 1970, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and only entered six races in 1971. in 1972, he swallowed his pride and accepted a ride in the Ford owned by independent campaigner Bill Seifert. He registered nine top 10 finishes in 18 starts, clearly the finest efforts the Seifert machinery had ever posted. Yarbrough showed up for Daytona's 1973 Speedweeks, but failed to earn a starting berth for the Daytona 500. He virtually dropped out of sight after that, never again showing up at a NASCAR event.
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