They Call Him Cale: The Life and Career of NASCAR Legend Cale Yarborough

by Joe McGinnis, Humpy Wheeler (Foreword)

Long before Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon ruled the NASCAR standings, the man they call Cale dominated the racetracks like no driver has before or since. Born William Caleb Yarborough in Timmonsville, South Carolina, Cale emerged from the grief of losing his father at a young age to become arguably the greatest stock-car driver of all time, blazing a trail through the sports landscape that helped turn auto racing into a multibillion dollar industry. The story of Cale's life, told for the first time ever in this authorized biography, is a tale of adventure, perseverance, and, above all, desire. After 43 years as a NASCAR driver and owner, Cale amassed a career record that remains staggering to this 560 races, 319 top-10 finishes, 83 victories, three NASCAR championships, and four Daytona 500 victories. Along the way, Cale would find himself rubbing fenders--and sometimes trading punches--with some of the biggest names in racing, including Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, and the Allison brothers. Written by lifelong NASCAR enthusiast Joe McGinnis, They Call Him Cale is the incredible true story behind one of the racing world's biggest stars and fiercest competitors, as well as the tale of a quintessential American who lives by one "You can't work yourself to death, but you can work yourself to live."

Genres: Racing

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Don Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. ! Reading about local hero and legend !

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and enjoyable read about a legend in the world of auto racing.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

a NASCAR legend deserves better

Cale Yarborough is a living symbol of NASCAR from its beginnings to the very creation of the dizzying heights that it has achieved nowadays. Sadly, most of the Johnny-Come-Lately fans have no idea, or at best, only a very dim idea who he is.

Sadly, this biography of Cale Yarborough only covers half of his career. Indeed, most of the book covers his life before NASCAR. There are only 203 pages in this biography and he joins NASCAR full-time on page 169. Considering that the last 11 pages discusses his retirement years, that leaves 23 pages to discuss his amazing run of 3 championships in a row, the famous fistfight at the 1979 Daytona 500, his decision to run a partial schedule for more than 7 years and his 11 year stint as team owner (just 5 pages for that).

The book could have been tremendously improved if the author had bothered to interview a few people. After all...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it a New York Times bestseller. No. But it is an interesting look at an interesting guy. He did a book signing at the B&N that I work at (I had been looking forward to that day for months and what happens...Respiratory infection!) At least I got a signed copy. Cale is the perfect example of how to make things happen in your life. If he wanted to do something. He went out and did it. If people told him no, he outsmarted them and found a loophole to get what he wanted. Look where he ended up!