Robert Yates, 1943-2017

By Zack Albert | Published: October 2, 2017 20

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NASCAR Hall of Fame electee Robert Yates was a mainstay in stock-car racing, both in the garage and engine shops that produced his trademark horsepower. That performance yielded 77 wins as an engine builder and 57 as a team owner in premier series competition.

Yates, who died Monday at 74, is remembered in endearing images of an automotive life well spent.

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Yates launched his career with Holman-Moody Racing, Ford's factory-backed team, in 1967, setting a path toward partnerships with some of the sport's legends. Here, Yates works under the hood of a Junior Johnson-owned machine for driver Cale Yarborough in 1974.

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Yates later joined the DiGard team, forming one of the sport's most powerful forces in the 1970s and '80s. Fellow Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip was a cornerstone of that winning combination, netting 26 victories from 1975-80 in DiGard Equipment.

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DiGard's success continued through the early 1980s with (from left) driver Bobby Allison, Yates and crew chief Gary Nelson. Allison won the Daytona 500 in 1982 and took the series championship the following year, with Yates' horsepower guiding the way.

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Yates started his own engine business in the mid-1980s and transitioned into team ownership when the Harry Ranier operation officially became Robert Yates Racing in 1989. Young next-generation star Davey Allison figured prominently into the team's rise, including this trip to Victory Lane in July 1991 at Daytona International Speedway.

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Robert Yates was as hands-on as it gets as a team owner, still going over the wall and changing tires as part of the pit crew in the team's earliest years.

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A jubilant driver and team owner share a laugh in Victory Lane as Davey Allison wipes Yates' victory kiss from his cheek after winning NASCAR's All-Star Race in 1991. It was the first of two straight All-Star wins for Allison, who won the event's first nighttime edition the following year.

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Victory celebrations were common for Robert Yates Racing in the early 1990s, including this one for Allison in the 1992 Daytona 500. Larry McReynolds (left), now a FOX Sports analyst, served as crew chief.

Less than a year and a half later, Allison tragically died in a helicopter accident at Talladega Superspeedway. He was 32.

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Robert Yates Racing continued on, with Ernie Irvan eventually taking the reins as the team's full-time driver. Irvan won eight times in Yates' Fords, including this first win together in 1993 at Martinsville Speedway, where Irvan playfully spritzed his car owner in celebration.

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Yates expanded to a two-car operation in 1996, bringing Dale Jarrett into the fold. Their association was a productive one, resulting in two Daytona 500 wins together and the 1999 series championship in the No. 88 Ford.

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After Irvan departed Robert Yates Racing, the team tapped sprint-car driver Kenny Irwin for its flagship No. 28 Ford from 1998-99. The familiar Havoline paint scheme continued on, even as Ford transitioned from the venerable Thunderbird to the Taurus model for NASCAR competition.

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Ricky Rudd's hard-nosed brand of racing was a solid fit for Robert Yates Racing in 2000. Pictured (from left) are Rudd, Yates and crew chief Michael McSwain.

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Robert Yates was a highly regarded figure in the garage, often seen monitoring his cars' progress from atop the hauler.

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Yates also helped to coach a young Elliott Sadler to early success. Two of Sadler's three career wins in NASCAR's top division came with Robert Yates Racing's No. 38 Ford.

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A pair of noteworthy final feats came at Talladega Superspeedway in 2005. Dale Jarrett recorded his final Cup victory on Oct. 2, a win that also was the last for Robert Yates Racing.

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Though RYR didn't taste Victory Lane again in premier series competition, the team's speed was still a phenomenon, especially on the sport's biggest ovals. David Gilliland won the pole position for the 2007 Daytona 500, leading Ricky Rudd in a 1-2 sweep of the front row for Yates' Fords.

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With just over two months remaining in the 2007 campaign, Robert Yates announced that he would retire as team president at season's end. Before the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Yates signed the hood of Gilliland's No. 38 Ford as a commemorative touch.

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Robert Yates' legacy lives on with the work of his son, Doug, as the President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines, the exclusive engine builder for Ford Performance. The company provides the horsepower for seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series organizations, plus for Ford teams in five other major stock-car and sports-car circuits.

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Robert Yates made a trip north during the 2016 season, addressing the drivers' and crew chiefs' meeting for a NASCAR Pinty's Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

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Robert Yates receives a hug from NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley after his election to the Class of 2018 on Voting Day, May 24, 2017. 'I'm going to walk around with my head higher than before. It means a lot to me,' Yates said after he was named on 94 percent of the ballots cast.