NASCAR HOFer-elect ROBERT YATES died yesterday at 74 after "battling liver cancer" for around a year, according to Matt Weaver of AUTOWEEK. Yates, who was selected for the HOF in May, "rose to prominence as both an engine builder and a team owner." He "broke into the sport with the Holman-Moody team" in '67 and then worked with HOFer JUNIOR JOHNSON, "pioneering 30 wins" from '69-75. He launched his own team in '88 after "purchasing the assets of Ranier-Lundy Racing." That included "young gun" DAVEY ALLISON. They "won their first race together a year later at Talladega" and would "win 15 of Yates’ overall 57 victories" at the Cup Series level, including the '92 Daytona 500. Yates would expand to a two-car team in '96 with ERNIE IRVAN and DALE JARRETT, who would go on to capture the '99 Cup Series championship for Yates (AUTOWEEK.com, 10/3). YAHOO SPORTS' Nick Bromberg noted Jarrett "scored the final victory for Yates Racing" in '05 when he won at Talladega. The team folded at the end of the '09 season and was "merged into Richard Petty Motorsports" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/2). USA TODAY's Mike Hembree notes Yates "co-founded Roush Yates Engines, Ford’s engine-building operation," with team owner JACK ROUSH (USA TODAY, 10/3). ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass noted Yates' son, DOUG, "followed in his father's footsteps, and he operates Roush Yates Engines" (ESPN.com, 10/2).
TWITTER TRIBUTES: Remembrances and tributes to Yates have poured in on social media. Fox Sports' Darrell Waltrip: "Yates was a good man, incredible engine builder, my thoughts and prayers are with Carolyn and Doug, RIP my dear old friend!" Driver Elliott Sadler: "He was like a father figure to me in this sport and was such a genuine man." Stewart-Haas Racing: "His #NASCAR legacy lives on." Motor Racing Network's Dave Moody: "A truly sad ending for a day filled with loss. Rest in peace, Robert Yates." ESPN's Ryan McGee: "Yates was as kind a person as I've met in 20-plus years around #NASCAR. And he was a mechanical genius. Godspeed, sir." Martinsville Speedway: "Yates was an innovator as an engine builder and an inspiration as cancer fighter Thoughts & prayers to @Yates_Doug & his family."
