LeeRoy Yarbrough

Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough (September 17, 1938 – December 7, 1984) was an American stock car racer. His best season was 1969 when he won seven races, tallied 21 finishes in the top-ten and earned $193,211 ($1,351,708.46 when inflation is taken into account). During his entire career from 1960–1972, he competed in 198 races, scoring fourteen wins, 65 finishes in the top-five, 92 finishes in the top-ten, and ten pole positions. Yarbrough also competed in open-wheel racing, making 5 starts in the USAC Championship cars, including 3 Indianapolis 500s, with a best finish of 3rd at Trenton Speedway in 1970. His racing number was 98. When asked about his passion, Yarbrough described racing as "what I call my life."

Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough
Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough's official publicity photo (1969)
Born(1938-09-17)September 17, 1938
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
DiedDecember 7, 1984(1984-12-07) (aged 46)
Cause of deathInternal head injuries caused by fall
Achievements1969 Daytona 500 Winner
1969 Southern 500 Winner
1969 World 600 Winner
First driver to win NASCAR's "Triple Crown" (1969)
AwardsNamed one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
198 races run over 12 years
Best finish15th (1964)
First race1960 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta)
Last race1972 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
First win1964 Savannah 200 (Savannah)
Last win1970 National 500 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles
14 92 10
NASCAR Grand National East Series career
1 race run over 1 year
First race1972 Greenville 200 (Greenville)
Last race1972 Greenville 200 (Greenville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
Statistics current as of December 18, 2012.

Yarbrough was admitted to a mental institution on March 7, 1980 after trying to kill his mother by strangulation.[1][2] All attempts to rehabilitate him (both in Florida or in North Carolina) failed and LeeRoy eventually died in 1984 after a fall.[2] In 1990, he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.[2] LeeRoy Yarbrough is not related to NASCAR champion Cale Yarborough.

Career

Early stock car career

Yarbrough grew up on the west side of Jacksonville, Florida, and developed an affinity for speed at an early age. When he was sixteen years-old, Yarbrough put together his first car, a 1934 Ford coupe with a Chrysler engine. When he was 19, Yarbrough found his way to a local dirt track. He won that race at Jacksonville Speedway in the spring of 1957. Racing at Jacksonville Speedway Park on Saturday nights Yarborough developed a penchant for carrying excess speed into the third turn and diving under any car that was ahead of him. He would then slide through the turn and run the straightway 1" from the concrete wall. The style was evident in many of his last lap wins throughout his career.

Yarbrough started his racing career in NASCAR's 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.

Yarbrough won two short-track races in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National season, the first year he competed in more than 14 races. Two years later, Yarbrough scored his first superspeedway 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 (800 km) in the October 16 National 500. Factory-backed rides followed. His Junior Johnson-owned Ford team started out poorly early in the 1968 season. LeeRoy rebounded and won at Atlanta and Trenton.

1969 and later

In the 1969 Daytona 500, Yarbrough found himself trailing Charlie Glotzbach by 11 seconds with ten laps remaining. On the final lap, Yarbrough ducked to the low side to make the pass, but a lapped car was in that lane. Yarbrough dived to the low side in turn 3 to clear the lapped car, nearly clipping the apron. He took the lead from Glotzbach and dashed under the checkered flag a car length in front to win the Daytona 500. Next, he won Darlington's Rebel 400 in the final four 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 late-race battle with Buddy Baker, making him the third driver in NASCAR history to sweep both Daytona races.[3] 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. By season's end, Yarbrough had seven wins to his credit and was named American Driver of The year.

After his successful 1969 season, Yarbrough’s performance record trailed off. A victim of the factory withdrawal, Yarbrough had to scramble to locate rides in Grand National events. He won once in 1970 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and only entered six races in 1971. In 1972, he accepted a ride in a Ford owned by independent campaigner Bill Seifert. He registered nine top 10 finishes in 18 starts. 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.

Later career and life

A hard test crash, April 1970, at the old Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas left him disoriented. He could not remember fellow driver Cale Yarborough picking him up in Texas a few days later and flying him home. He also could not remember flying on to Martinsville, or running in the race at Martinsville.

Junior Johnson, who considered him the best driver he ever had, was determined to find out what was wrong. "He could remember everything from 1970 back, nothing forward," Johnson said. "And, it seemed like it just happened all at once. You'd go to dinner with him, and they'd put a plate of food in front of him, and he'd just sit, and look at it, until you said, 'Lee Roy, eat.' Then, he’d pick up his knife and fork."

Yarbrough showed well in a few Indy Car starts, leading the inaugural California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway late before dropping out, and then finishing 3rd at Trenton Speedway in 1971. After competing in 3 Indianapolis 500s in 1967, '69 and '70, Yarbrough was driving a Dan Gurney Eagle in practice for the 1971 500 when he spun and crashed hard in turn one. Yarbrough spent the next few months, June through November, in and out of the hospital with many different ailments and memory problems. He was rumoured to have contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever from a tick bite, and also drank alcohol heavily. He most likely suffered brain trauma from the crashes in Texas and Indianapolis. Many drivers would have different theories on the cause of Yarbrough's declining mental health, one example being Ray Fox saying “Racing happened to Lee Roy. Just too many crashes. And they sent him off the deep end.” James Hylton would blame “that doggone tick. The Rocky Mountain spotted fever—if it goes untreated, it’s a mental thing, and it’ll drive you insane. They gave Lee Roy so much medication when they finally did treat it that it eventually caused his death. He just deteriorated to the point where he was unmanageable. The man did not deserve that. Lee Roy was one of the good ones.”

On a Thursday evening in February 1980, Yarbrough and his mother, Minnie were watching TV together when out of nowhere, Yarbrough would say "Mother, I hate to do this to you." Minnie replied, "What do you mean?" Yarbrough would proceed to strangle his mother, who was only saved by a nephew who had heard the screams and hit Yarbrough with a jelly jar on the head. A few minutes later, police arrested Yarbrough with charges of first-degree attempted murder for trying to kill his 65-year-old mother, plus assault on a police officer. Yarbrough was committed to the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee by Judge Hudson Oliff of Jacksonville on March 7, 1980, after he was tried for attempted first-degree murder of his mother and battery to a law-enforcement officer. His mother, Minnie Yarbrough, testified that he had walked up to her and started strangling her for no reason. Judge Oliff ruled that Mr. Yarbrough was not guilty of attempted murder because he was unable to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the incident.

Death

While in the hospital on December 6, 1984, Yarbrough had a violent seizure and fell over striking his head. He fell unconscious immediately. He was rushed to Jacksonville's University Hospital where he died the morning of December 7, 1984. The doctors said he died of internal bleeding in the brain.

Motorsports career results

American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Pos Points
1966 PHX TRE INDY
DNQ		 MIL LAN ATL PIP IRP LAN SPR MIL DUQ ISF TRE SAC PHX NC 0
1967 PHX TRE INDY
27		 MIL LAN PIP MOS MOS IRP LAN MTR MTR SPR MIL DUQ ISF TRE SAC HAN PHX RIV NC 0
1968 HAN LVG PHX TRE INDY
DNQ		 MIL MOS MOS LAN PIP CDR NAZ IRP IRP LAN LAN MTR MTR SPR MIL DUQ ISF TRE SAC MCH HAN PHX RIV NC 0
1969 PHX HAN INDY
23		 MIL LAN PIP CDR NAZ TRE IRP IRP MIL SPR DOV DUQ ISF BRN BRN TRE SAC KEN KEN PHX RIV NC 0
1970 PHX SON TRE INDY
19		 MIL LAN CDR MCH IRP SPR MIL ONT
8		 DUQ ISF SED TRE SAC PHX 35th 250
1971 RAF RAF PHX TRE
3		 INDY
DNQ		 MIL POC MCH MIL ONT TRE PHX 23rd 280
Indianapolis 500
Year Car number Start Qual Rank Finish Laps 500 Led Retired
1967 67 26 163.066 24 27 87 0 Crash NC
1969 67 8 168.075 8 23 65 0 Split Header
1970 27 13 166.559 19 19 107 0 Turbo Gear
Totals 259 0
Starts 3
Poles 0
Front Row 0
Wins 0
Top 5 0
Top 10 0
Retired 3

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Grand National Series
NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 NGNC Pts Ref
1960 Chevy CLT CLB DAY DAY DAY CLT NWS PHO CLB MAR HCY WIL BGS GPS AWS DAR PIF HBO RCH HMS CLT BGS DAY HEI MAB MBS ATL BIR NSV AWS PIF CLB SBO BGS DAR HCY CSF GSP HBO MAR NWS CLT
DNQ		 RCH 137th 84 [4]
82 Chevy ATL
33
1962 Lewis Osborne 97 Chevy CON AWS DAY DAY DAY CON AWS SVH HBO RCH CLB NWS GPS MBS MAR BGS BRI RCH HCY CON DAR
30		 PIF ATL
17		 BGS AUG
13		 RCH SBO AUG
19		 SVH
20		 MBS BRI
42		 CHT NSV HUN AWS STR BGS PIF 36th 4240 [5]
Nichels Engineering 39 Pontiac CLT
12		 DAY
25		 CLB ASH GPS
Ralph Smith 179 Chevy VAL
5
McMillion Racing 83 Pontiac DAR
27		 HCY RCH DTS AUG MAR NWS
Jimmy Baker 81 Mercury CLT
43		 ATL
37
1963 BIR
20		 GGS THS RSD DAY 26th 7872 [6]
E. A. McQuaig 30 Pontiac DAY
11		 SVH
6		 DTS BGS ASH OBS BRR BRI GPS NSV CLB AWS PIF BGS ONA
39 DAY
13		 PIF AWS HBO ATL
7		 HCY CLT
33		 BIR ATL DAY MBS
Lou Sidoit 69 Mercury BRI
5		 MAR
17
Lyle Stelter 55 Mercury AUG
9		 RCH GPS SBO BGS NWS
26		 CLB
10		 THS
W. M. Harrison 71 Chevy DAR
16		 ODS RCH
Don Harrison 92 Ford DAR
29		 HCY RCH MAR DTS NWS THS
Ray Osborne CLT
34		 SBO HBO RSD
1964 E. A. McQuaig 39 Pontiac CON AUG JSP
20		 15th 16172 [7]
90 Plymouth SVH
17		 RSD DAY
David Walker 89 Plymouth DAY
21		 DAY RCH ATL
22
Roscoe Sanders 71 Plymouth BRI
11
Louis Weathersbee 45 Plymouth GPS
4		 BGS AWS
8		 HBO
14		 PIF
14		 CLB
3		 SVH
1		 LGY
9		 HCY
4		 SBO GPS
1		 ASH CON
12		 NSV CHT BIR VAL
2*		 PIF
2		 ODS
12		 OBS
6		 ISP
15		 MBS
3		 AWS DTS ONA CLB BGS STR AUG
23		 JAC
Paul Clayton 70 Pontiac NWS
26		 MAR
Fox Racing 03 Dodge DAR
8		 CLT
26		 ATL
11		 DAY
11		 BRR
18		 GLN
2		 LIN
18		 BRI
4		 NSV DAR
17		 HCY RCH ODS HBO MAR
27		 SVH NWS CLT
5		 HAR
1965 3 RSD DAY
12		 DAY DAY
DNQ		 PIF AWS RCH HBO ATL GPS NWS MAR CLB BRI DAR LGY BGS HCY 37th 5852 [8]
Chevy CLT
14		 CCF ASH HAR NSV BIR ATL
34		 GPS MBS VAL DAY
34		 ODS OBS ISP GLN BRI NSV CCF DAR
27		 HCY CLT
5		 HBO CAR DTS
Gary Weaver 10 Ford AWS
19		 AUG
4		 CLB
6		 DTS BLV BGS
Gene Hobby 99 Dodge SMR
21
Sam Fogle 31 Ford PIF
12		 LIN
23		 ODS
25
Petty Enterprises 43 Plymouth RCH
34		 MAR NWS
1966 Jon Thorne 12 Dodge AUG RSD DAY DAY
4		 DAY
8		 CAR
32		 BRI ATL
21		 HCY CLB GPS BGS NWS MAR DAR
29		 LGY MGR MON RCH CLT DTS ASH PIF SMR AWS BLV GPS DAY
24		 ODS BRR OXF FON ISP BRI SMR NSV ATL
43		 CLB AWS BLV BGS DAR
8		 HCY RCH HBO MAR NWS CLT
1*		 CAR
39		 26th 10528 [9]
1967 33 Chevy AUG
20		 37th 7012 [10]
Jon Thorne 12 Dodge RSD
34		 DAY
1		 DAY DAY
34		 AWS BRI
24		 GPS BGS ATL
30		 CLB HCY NWS MAR SVH RCH DAR BLV LGY CLT ASH MGR SMR BIR
Bud Moore Engineering 16 Mercury CAR
18		 GPS MGY DAY
6		 TRN OXF FDA ISP BRI
16		 SMR NSV ATL
3		 BGS CLB SVH DAR
39		 HCY RCH BLV HBO MAR
35
Junior Johnson & Associates 26 Ford NWS
3		 CLT
DNQ		 CAR
14		 AWS
27
1968 MGR
17		 MGY
20		 RSD
37		 BRI
3		 RCH MAR
4		 DAR
5		 BLV LGY 16th 1894 [11]
Mercury DAY
2		 ATL
2		 HCY GPS
Lyle Stelter 56 Ford CLB
9		 CLB
3		 BGS AWS
Junior Johnson & Associates 98 Ford CLB
5		 CAR
28		 GPS TRN
1*		 BRI
32		 SMR NSV DAR
27		 HCY RCH BLV HBO MAR
3		 CLT
41		 CAR
3
Lyle Stelter 55 Ford AUG
15		 AWS
Junior Johnson & Associates 98 Mercury CLT
3		 ASH MGR SMR BIR DAY
2		 ISP OXF FDA ATL
1*		 NWS
3		 AUG
Lyle Stelter 56 Mercury SBO
20		 LGY
23		 JFC
5
1969 MGR
16		 MGY 16th 2712 [12]
Junior Johnson & Associates 98 Mercury RSD
6		 ATL
11		 CLB HCY GPS RCH NWS
2		 MAR
4		 AWS DAR
1		 BLV LGY CLT
1*		 MGR SMR MCH
4*		 KPT GPS NCF
Ford DAY
9		 DAY DAY
1		 CAR
23		 AUG BRI
2		 DAY
1*		 DOV
15		 TPN BRI
11		 NSV SMR ATL
1*		 MCH
8		 SBO BGS AWS
22		 DAR
1*		 HCY RCH
10		 TAL
Wth		 CLB MAR
20		 NWS
4		 CLT
38		 SVH
4		 AUG
4		 CAR
1*		 JFC
4		 MGR
29		 TWS
10
DeWitt Racing 14 Ford TRN
5		 BLV
1970 Junior Johnson & Associates 98 Ford RSD
3		 DAY
3		 DAY DAY
9		 RCH CAR
29		 SVH ATL
4		 BRI TAL NWS
3		 CLB DAR
26		 BLV LGY MCH
4		 RSD HCY KPT GPS BRI
2		 SMR NSV
23		 MAR
7		 MGR 43rd 625 [13]
Mercury CLT
29		 SMR DAY
25		 AST TPN ATL
3		 CLB ONA MCH
7		 TAL BGS SBO DAR HCY RCH DOV NCF NWS CLT
1*		 CAR
29		 LGY
Matthews Racing 27 Ford MAR
26
Donlavey Racing 90 Ford TRN
30
1971 Junior Johnson & Associates 98 Mercury RSD DAY
4		 DAY DAY
34		 ONT
6		 RCH CAR
6		 HCY BRI 73rd 98 [14]
Seifert Racing 45 Ford ATL
28		 CLB
44 GPS
DNQ		 SMR NWS MAR DAR SBO TAL ASH KPT CLT DOV MCH RSD HOU GPS DAY BRI AST ISP TRN NSV ATL BGS ONA MCH TAL CLB HCY DAR MAR
Howard & Egerton Racing 98 Chevy CLT
34		 DOV CAR MGR RCH NWS TWS

Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1972 Nichels Engineering 99 Plymouth RSD DAY
DNQ		 RCH ONT 34th 2157.5 [15]
Seifert Racing 45 Ford CAR
4		 ATL
9		 BRI
4		 NWS
6		 TWS
41		 BRI
19		 TRN TAL
33		 MCH NSV
28		 MAR
30		 NWS CLT CAR TWS
Bud Moore Engineering 15 Ford DAR
26
Seifert Racing 45 Mercury MAR
23		 TAL
7		 CLT
5		 DOV
3		 MCH
28		 RSD DAY
6
Donlavey Racing 90 Ford ATL
5		 DAR
39		 RCH DOV
1973 RSD DAY
DNQ		 RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV CLT DOV TWS RSD MCH DAY BRI ATL TAL NSV DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR – – [16]
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1963 E. A. McQuaig Pontiac 22 13
1965 Fox Racing Dodge DNQ
1966 Jon Thorne Dodge 8 8
1967 3 34
1968 Junior Johnson & Associates Mercury 3 2
1969 Ford 19 1
1970 5 9
1971 Mercury 7 34
1972 Nichels Engineering Plymouth DNQ
1973 DNQ

Grand National East Series
NASCAR Grand National East Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NGNEC Pts Ref
1972 Seifert Racing 45 Ford JSP HCY GPS
3		 CLB NSV SMR ONA MBS AST ISP CLB HCY BGS LPS CLB – – [17]

References
  1. "» LeeRoy, He Ain't Here No More Bronx Banter".
  2. "The Fall of LeeRoy Yarbrough". Legends of NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2009-10-17. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  3. Caraviello, David (2013-07-08). "Link to Allisons, history sweetens Johnson's Daytona sweep". NASCAR. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  4. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1960 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  5. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1962 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  6. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1963 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  7. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1964 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  8. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1965 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  9. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1966 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  10. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1967 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  11. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1968 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  12. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  13. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  14. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  15. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  16. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  17. "LeeRoy Yarbrough – 1972 Grand National East Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
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