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

by Joe McGinnis, Humpy Wheeler (Foreword)

Every sport has its own giants, those who dominate a team or an era, men and women who stand apart with a determined focus and skills that are a perfect blend of God-given talent and years of dedication and hard work. Basketball had Michael Jordan, and golf has Tiger Woods. Nascar is no exception. The world of stock-car racing has witnessed several standouts through the years, but perhaps none more outstanding than Cale Yarborough. Never before have race tracks been attacked with such tenacity race after race. When Cale was in the field, his hard-charging style of driving was only limited by the abilities of his car and crew. His instinctive courage allowed him to make moves on the track that sometimes seemed impossible. The saga of Cale's life, told for the first time ever in this authorized biography, reads more like a novel or a movie script. The sandy farmland in central South Carolina forms the backdrop for a tale of remarkable adventures and well-earned success nurtured by family support and community involvement. But mostly it is a story of a boy who decided early on that he wanted to become a Nascar driver of the highest caliber. In a world where heroes are getting harder and harder to find, the story of Cale's life serves as a reminder that they're still out there. There are still those whose sheer determination set examples for us to follow as we strive to reach our own dreams. Cale's path to three Nascar championships and the setting of many records that still stand more than 25 years later is a feel-good story of success made all the more poignant by the doubt and difficulties encountered along the way. Cale enables the reader to know a great man, a man still revered asperhaps the greatest stock-car driver ever.

Genres: Racing

256 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!