William Caleb Yarborough was born on the 27th March 1939, in Timmonsville, South Carolina USA, and is a retired race car driver, and owner of the Cale Yarborough Motorsports team. He is best known to the world for winning three consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, in 1976, 1977 and 1978. His career was active from the late ‘50s until the late ‘80s.
Have you ever wondered how rich Cale Yarborough is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Yarborough’s net worth is as high as $50 million, an amount earned though his successful career in motor racing.
Cale Yarborough Net Worth $50 Million
Cale is the oldest son of three born to Annie and Julian Yarborough. He grew up just outside Timmonsville, South Carolina, in a community called Sardis; his father died in a plane crash when Cale was ten years old. While in high school, Cale played football as a halfback, and reached semi-pro football level, playing for teams in Columbia, South Carolina. He was also offered a tryout by the Washington Redskins, however, he chose motor racing instead.
He first came across racing when he was still a teenager, watching from the stands of the Southern 500, without a ticket according to his autobiography. During the ‘50s he tried to get into Southern 500 as a driver by lying about his age, but was caught and banned from NASCAR. Nevertheless, in 1957 he made his debut by driving for Bob Weatherly in the Pontiac No. 30. He started the race from 44th position and managed to improve two places before the end of the race, despite mechanical problems. In 1959 he moved from Pontiac to Ford, which helped his performance, finishing 14th at Southern States Fairgrounds in 1960.
In 1961 he joined the Julian Buesnick team, still driving Ford, and at the Southern 500 he managed 30th place. The following year he drove in eight races for Julian Buesnick, Don Harrison and Wildcat Williams, and had his first top ten finish, at the Daytona 500 Qualifying Race. Cale improved year after year, and after driving for such teams as Herman Beam, Ray Osborne, Holman-Moody, Matthews Racing, Bid Moore Engineering, and many others until 1971, Cale decided to join the Winston Cup Series.
He firstly drove for the Fox Racing in a Plymouth, No. 3, but after mediocre performsnces joined Hylton Motorsports in Mercury No. 98, and then Ellington Racing in the Chevy No. 28, but without major success.
Nevertheless, he continued with his career by becoming a driver for the Howard & Egerton Racing, driving the No. 11 Chevy. His performance began to improve, and in 1974 he won ten races, second to Richard Petty but with almost 600 points in deficit. For the next season, his team was bought by Junior Johnson and the team was rebranded to Junior Johnson & Associates. He recorded his best seasons from 1976 until 1979, winning three consecutive championships, in 1976, 1977 and 1978, which increased his net worth. In 1979 he was fourth, and in 1980 season finished second. He stayed active as a racer until 1988, but as most of his career, he didn’t post noteworthy results, finishing from 24th place to 38th. However, he participated in 560 races, 83 of which he won, while he also had 319 top-ten finishes.
Thanks to his success, Cale received numerous prestigious awards and honors, including induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, induction into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, both in 1994, among many other accomplishments.
Regarding his personal life, Cale has been married to Betty Jo Thigpen since 1961; the couple has three children together. They live in Sardis, South Carolina.
