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DARLINGTON, S.C. — The first time he went to Darlington Raceway, Cale Yarborough had to sneak under the fence to get inside.
Saturday at the track considered the toughest on the circuit, it was only fitting that officials named the premier series garage area after one of NASCAR’s toughest individuals.
It is now the Cale Yarborough Garage. No sneaking required.
“This is a great honor; there’s no place like Darlington to me,” a smiling Yarborough, 77, said after the unveiling. “I slipped under the fence when I came to see my first race and now … I’ve got a garage named after me.”
Great could also describe Yarborough’s career, which saw the Timmonsville, South Carolina, native win three consecutive championships (1976-77-78) and 83 races. A NASCAR Hall of Fame selection in 2012, he won at Darlington five times; all five victories (1968, ’73, ’74, ’78, ’82) came in the legendary Southern 500.
The ’68 victory, which came in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Mercury, remains his favorite, he said.
“This place, it will bite you,” Yarborough said. “If you win a race here … everybody would love to have Darlington in their resume, I’ll tell you that.
“Winning that 1968 Southern 500 on the original Darlington race track; I wouldn’t take anything for that.”
Track president Kerry Tharp noted that “when you think of Darlington Raceway and its history, one of the first people you think of is Cale.
“The opportunity to name the garage area in his honor means a great deal to the track, to this part of the state and to NASCAR as well,” he said. “There’s no more appropriate driver to name it after than Cale, a native son.”