Cale Yarborough Motorsports

Cale Yarborough Motorsports

Company type	Private
Industry	Auto racing
Founded	1987
Founder	Cale Yarborough
Defunct	2000
Headquarters	United States
Area served	NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Products	NASCAR racing team

Cale Yarborough Motorsports competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1987 through 2000, securing a total of 13 top-five finishes, 32 top-ten placements, and three pole positions during its tenure.

Ownership

In 1986, Cale Yarborough acquired the No. 47 team from Jack Beebe, owner of Race Hill Farms, reassigning the car number to 29 with plans for part-time driving. By 1988, Yarborough shared driving responsibilities with Dale Jarrett, who achieved a single top-ten finish across nineteen races. Upon Yarborough’s retirement, Jarrett assumed full-time driving duties in 1989, attaining two top-five finishes and concluding the season 24th in the points standings. After Hardee's ended its sponsorship, Phillips 66/TropArtic stepped in, and Dick Trickle replaced Jarrett in the No. 66 vehicle. Trickle earned two top-five finishes, captured his only career pole at Dover, and also finished 24th in points before departing early in the 1991 season.

Lake Speed took over from Trickle in 1991, recording three top-ten qualifying results but exited the team following an eleventh-place finish at the Busch 500. The remainder of that year featured drivers Dorsey Schroeder, Chuck Bown, and Randy LaJoie. In 1992, Chad Little was signed but was replaced after six races due to unsatisfactory performance. Jimmy Hensley then drove for the rest of the season, securing four top-ten finishes and earning Rookie of the Year honors.

The team transitioned to the No. 98 Ford Thunderbird in 1993 with Bojangles' as sponsor and Derrike Cope behind the wheel; Cope ended the year 26th in points with a best finish of eighth at Talladega. In 1994, Cope began the season with Fingerhut sponsorship but was replaced mid-year by Jeremy Mayfield, whose highest finish was nineteenth.

RCA became the primary sponsor starting in 1995; Mayfield achieved an eighth-place finish at Pocono and in 1996 added two top-five results plus a pole position at the DieHard 500 before moving to Michael Kranefuss's team. John Andretti succeeded Mayfield and earned a pole at Talladega along with winning the 1997 Pepsi 400—marking Yarborough’s only victory as an owner.

After Andretti left for Petty Enterprises and RCA withdrew from NASCAR sponsorship, Greg Sacks joined in 1998 but was sidelined by a neck injury that ended his season prematurely. Rich Bickle stepped in as substitute driver, posting three top-five qualifying performances and a fourth-place finish at Martinsville before resigning. Financial difficulties caused Thorn Apple Valley to end its backing; subsequently, Yarborough briefly ceased operations before reopening with Rick Mast driving and Wayne Burdett joining as co-owner. Initially lacking a primary sponsor, short-term agreements were made with Sonic Drive-In and Hobas Pipe before Universal Studios/Woody Woodpecker became the main sponsor.

Mast delivered two top-ten finishes and completed the season without any DNFs but departed for Larry Hedrick Motorsports after Universal redirected sponsorship to Team Gordon. Efforts to sell the team fell through, leading to a temporary closure in January 2000. Later that year, Atlanta-based developer Chip MacPherson purchased the operation; under his ownership, Jeff Fuller debuted at Lowe's Motor Speedway but finished 41st due to engine failure, while Geoffrey Bodine competed at the Pennzoil 400 but was involved in a wreck. Shortly thereafter, the team exited the Cup Series.

Car results

Year	Driver	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	Owners	Pts
1987	Cale Yarborough	29	Olds	DAY 10	CAR 28	RCH	ATL 8	DAR 15	NWS	BRI	MAR	TAL 37	CLT 42	DOV	POC 4	RSD	MCH 33	DAY 24	POC	TAL 5	GLN	MCH 40	BRI	DAR 13	RCH	DOV 36	MAR	NWS	CLT 24	CAR 37	RSD	ATL 40						29th	1450
1988 ...
	1999			Rick Mast	style="background:#FFDF9F;" |DAY 10	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |CAR 35	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |LVS 19	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |ATL 16	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |DAR 13	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |TEX 30	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |BRI 19	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |MAR 42	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |TAL 24	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |CAL 31	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |RCH 16	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |CLT 34	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |DOV 34	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |MCH 37	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |POC 12	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |SON 23	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |DAY 32	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |NHA 30	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |POC 19	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |[[1999 Brickyard 400 IND ]|IND}}  <Small 36}}	style = " background: # CFCFFF; " >	32nd	2845

This comprehensive performance record illustrates the organization's active engagement within competitive motorsports arenas, underscoring its strategic emphasis on enhancing brand exposure and influence across automotive and sports sectors.