Cale Yarborough through the years

Legendary driver Cale Yarborough rose to become one of NASCAR's all-time greats as a competitor known for his tenacity on the track. His 83 wins and three Cup Series championships paved his way into the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Class of 2012. Take a look back through Yarborough's stellar career with highlights and other photos from his life in racing.

Cale Yarborough poses beside the Julian Buesink-owned No. 52 Ford that he drove in some of his earliest events in the early 1960s. He made his Cup Series debut at Darlington Raceway in 1957; this car was his entry for the '63 Daytona 500, which he missed after overheating issues knocked him from a qualifying race.

By 1965, Yarborough had connected with Hall of Famer Banjo Matthews to drive his No. 27 Ford in select races. His first Cup Series victory came in that same year, but with car owner Kenny Myler at Valdosta (Ga.) 75 Speedway.

Cale Yarborough also branched into IndyCar racing early in his career, making four starts in the Indianapolis 500. He ran nearly an entire season in the U.S. Auto Club's Champ Car circuit in 1971 after Ford's temporary withdrawal from the sport, and his best finish in the Indy 500 came in his final attempt the following year, when he finished 10th.

Cale Yarborough, left, chats with car owners Glen Wood, center, and Leonard Wood before a Cup Series race in the 1967 season. Yarborough connected with the legendary team near the end of the '66 campaign and forged a strong partnership.

Yarborough made the most of his first victory with the Wood Brothers, leading 301 of 334 laps from the pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1967. He's celebrating with the trophy alongside brothers Delano Wood, far left, and Glen Wood. The victory was the first of 13 he would achieve with the Wood Brothers. Six of those came in 1968, when Yarborough also won his first Daytona 500.

Cale Yarborough is suited up for duty in the pole-winning No. 21 Mercury at Daytona International Speedway in July 1969. Engine failure ended his Firecracker 400 early, but he was a two-time winner that season (Atlanta, Michigan).

After splitting time between IndyCar and NASCAR in the 1971-72 seasons, Yarborough returned to stock-car racing in a full-time role with team owner Richard Howard in '73. That pairing created a bond with the legendary Junior Johnson, who was the No. 11 team manager that season before he bought the team the next year. Yarborough finished second in the Cup Series standings in both the 1973 and '74 seasons.

Cale Yarborough celebrates in Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway after winning the 1974 Southern 500. The historic Darlington track -- not far from his hometown of Sardis, S.C. -- was the site of five Cup Series wins, all in the 500-mile classic. This triumph was also one of 10 in the 1974 season with the Junior Johnson team.

Cale Yarborough and car owner Junior Johnson hoist the trophy in Victory Lane after the 1976 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Yarborough also won the Daytona 500 the next year, leading 137 of the 200 laps.

Championship celebrations came with regularity during the mid-1970s for Yarborough, who marked a Cup Series first with three consecutive titles from 1976-78. Here, Yarborough, car owner Junior Johnson and chief mechanic Herb Nab accept the Winston Cup trophy from R.J. Reynolds marketing executive C.A. Tucker after their first series crown together.

Cale Yarborough on the grid with his No. 11 entry for the 1978 Daytona 500, where he finished second after starting from the pole position. Yarborough won 10 races on the way to the '78 title, and his championship marches the previous two years produced nine wins each.

Cale Yarborough and his wife, Betty Jo, savor the winning spoils in Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway in 1978. He was a three-time winner at the 2.66-mile Alabama track over the course of his career.

The 1979 season opened with a landmark moment in NASCAR history after Yarborough crashed on the final lap of the Daytona 500 with Donnie Allison. The wreck cleared the way for Richard Petty's victory but also led to an infield brawl with Yarborough pitted against Donnie Allison and his brother, Bobby. The fracas marked a dramatic conclusion to the first flag-to-flag live broadcast of "The Great American Race."

Cale Yarborough perches on the No. 11 Oldsmobile that he would use in the 1980 season, his last with the Junior Johnson organization.

Yarborough dialed back his racing schedule to part-time competition in 1981, starting with two seasons partnered with team owner M.C. Anderson's No. 27 group. His winning ways continued, and he notched multiple victories in each of his first five seasons running a partial schedule.

Yarborough shifted teams in 1983, and that season got off to a harrowing start with this crash of his Harry Ranier-owned No. 28 Chevrolet during Daytona 500 qualifying. Yarborough was unhurt, and the setback teed up a brilliant comeback performance.

With a reserve Pontiac entry, Yarborough posted his third Daytona 500 victory in 1983, edging the three-way battle of Bill Elliott, Buddy Baker and Joe Ruttman behind him. A slingshot pass of Baker on the final lap sealed the win.

CBS Sports was on board for some of Yarborough's most significant triumphs, making some of the earliest uses of in-car camera technology. "As far as I'm concerned, CBS can put a camera in my car anytime," Yarborough said after one such win.

Cale Yarborough went back-to-back with Daytona 500 wins in 1984, converting another last-lap pass to secure the checkered flag.

Cale Yarborough with a rare moment to slow down at the race track, taking a break with his No. 28 entry at Talladega Superspeedway in the 1984 campaign.

Yarborough and his Ranier team switched to Ford in 1985, and the veteran had his hands full with Bill Elliott's strong No. 9 Thunderbird at Talladega in the springtime race there. Yarborough won twice that year, once at Talladega and one final time at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the fall.

Yarborough formed his own team in 1987, when he entered 16 races as an owner-driver. He hung up his helmet after a 10-race campaign in '88, ending with 83 wins in 560 Cup Series starts.

Yarborough's lone Cup Series victory as a car owner came with John Andretti at the wheel of the No. 98 Ford, prevailing in Daytona's 400-miler in 1997. Yarborough's days as a team owner ended after the '98 campaign.

Cale Yarborough was a surprise guest at the 2008 NASCAR Awards, tipping his cap to Jimmie Johnson on the occasion of his third consecutive Cup Series championship. Johnson eclipsed Yarborough's record with two more titles in a row, and the two drivers were tied with 83 Cup Series wins at the time of their retirement from full-time competition.

Yarborough was reunited with his former team owner when he and Junior Johnson held court and shared a laugh at the Darlington Historic Racing Festival in 2009.

Cale Yarborough was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2012. One of his classic No. 28 races was part of his exhibit during his enshrinement.

Darlington Raceway dedicated its garage area to Cale Yarborough in 2016. It was the same garage he'd snuck into as a youngster to watch his first race.

Yarborough regularly returned to Darlington Raceway for promotional events and appearances. Here in 2009, then-rookie Joey Logano receives a tutorial from Yarborough about the nuances of the track "Too Tough to Tame."

Cale Yarborough takes a parade lap around Darlington with Kevin Harvick, who raced a Busch Beer No. 4 tribute to the driver for the 2016 Throwback Weekend event.

Jimmie Johnson's helmet sported a Cale Yarborough tribute on the occasion of his 83rd Cup Series victory, at Dover Motor Speedway on June 4, 2017. Johnson also wore a hat of longtime Yarborough sponsor Hardee's in Victory Lane after tying him for sixth on NASCAR's all-time Cup Series win list.