H
HardScrabble
Guest
Lonnie LeeRoy Yarbrough was born. LeeRoy ran 198 races in the WC ranks, winning 14 times. The stats do not speak of the talent, a talent, like others, we never saw in its fullest. LeeRoy passed away on December 7, 1984.
Life is a mountain that every man tries to climb, some reach the peak with little trouble and enjoy the fruits of success. For others the climb is an almost endless struggle with the enjoyment of success lost in the blink of eye.
Lee Roy Yarbrough was a Jacksonville, Fla., high school dropout who built his first race car, a '33 Ford street roadster, at the age of 16. His first time out in the roadster he won a feature at Jacksonville (Fla.) Speedway.
Julian Klein, Jacksonville race promoter, took the ****y, brash and quick to anger youngster in tow and during the next few years Lee Roy won more than a 100 Sportsman and Modified features. Klein finally grew tired of Yarbrough's temper and attitude and the pair parted company.
Lee Roy knocked around for a few years and then surfaced at Daytona International Speedway in 1962 and won his first "big" race on the famed high banks, the Modified-Sportsman 250 run every year as a prelim to the Daytona 500. He went on to win 37 NASCAR Late Model Sportsman races in '62.
He joined the Grand National ranks driving for Ray Fox with mediocre success, two short track wins in '64.
Finally the sky brightened in 1966 when he teamed with car owner Jon Thorne to win the National 500 at Charlotte, NC
Lee Roy tried the Indianapolis 500 in 1967 but the trip was less than successful. Driving the Jim Robbins car, he tangled with Cale Yarborough and Lloyd Ruby on the 87th lap and crashed hard into the outer wall and finished 27th.
However the sun continued to shine for our boy in NASCAR land and in Oct. of '67 the legendary Junior Johnson hired him to drive for Johnson's factory Ford team with Herb Nab as crew chief.
The next year, '68, was a learning year as Johnson and Nab learned to communicate and understand some of the strange quirks of Lee Roy's personality.
Then came the unbelievable successes of 1969, a victory in the Daytona 500 was followed by wins in the Rebel 400 at Darlington, Firecracker 400 at Daytona, Dixie 500 at Atlanta, and the Southern 500 for a clean sweep at Darlington.
There was one more chance for still more glory, in 1970, the inaugural California 500 at the spanking new Ontario Motor Speedway. It was a dandy race from the git go with Lloyd Ruby, Al Unser, Dan Gurney, Peter Revson swapping the lead with regularity and Lee Roy running close to the leaders all the time.
Finally with 14 laps to go Al Unser had taken the lead and looked to have things well in hand. Then, bingo, transmission trouble forced Al into the pits and out of nowhere came Lee Roy to claim the lead.
But fortune frowned on Yarbrough and with victory in sight, nine laps to go, Lee Roy's Brabham-Offy blew its engine and Lee Roy coasted to an eighth place finish.
Art Pollard and Jim McElreath dueled the remaining few laps for the lead, with Jimmy pulling into Victory Lane to be greeted, and receive the handshake, from California Governor Ronald Reagen.
Lee Roy had reached the pinnacle of his mountain.
A hard crash, while testing tires at Texas World Speedway later in 1970 rattled Lee Roy's cage pretty badly and left him disoriented. In fact he couldn't remember fellow driver Cale Yarborough picking him up in Texas a few days later and flying him home. The he couldn't remember flying on to Martinsville, or running in the race at Martinsville.
Three more trips to Indianapolis, 1969, '70 and '71, ended without success and the '71 trip was a total disaster. On May 8, 1971 Yarbrough was driving a Dan Gurney Eagle when he spun and crashed hard in turn one. Lee Roy spent the next few months, June thru November, in and out of the hospital with many different ailments and memory lapses
Some said it was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, some said he had a serious drinking problem, some said it was the memory of too many concrete walls.
Lee Roy tried a comeback in 1972 but on Sept. 24, at Marinsville, Va. he drove a race car for the last time, he crashed on the 109th lap. Lee Roy's trip down from his mountain top had taken less than three years.
He pretty much dropped out of sight for the next few years, but every once in a while there would be a brief mention about Lee Roy being back in the hospital for treatment of memory lapse and violent behavior again.
Feb. 13, 1980 it happened. Something snapped and Lee Roy savagely attacked his Mother, nearly choking her to death.
On March 7, 1980 Lee Roy was judged incompetent to stand trial for attempted murder and was committed to a Florida mental hospital.
Then on Dec.6,1984 Yarbrough had a violent seizure and fell striking his head. He was rushed to Jacksonville's University Hospital where he died the morning of Dec.7,1984. The doctors said he died of internal bleeding in the brain, those who knew him said he died because he was tired of living at the bottom of his mountain.
Lee Roy Yarbrough had enjoyed a brief time at the peak of his mountain, but it wasn't until 1990 that his peers recognized his exceptional talent when it came to driving a race car.
The Southern Motorsports Writers elected Lee Roy Yarbrough into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame At Darlington, SC Raceway in 1990.
Life is a mountain that every man tries to climb, some reach the peak with little trouble and enjoy the fruits of success. For others the climb is an almost endless struggle with the enjoyment of success lost in the blink of eye.
Lee Roy Yarbrough was a Jacksonville, Fla., high school dropout who built his first race car, a '33 Ford street roadster, at the age of 16. His first time out in the roadster he won a feature at Jacksonville (Fla.) Speedway.
Julian Klein, Jacksonville race promoter, took the ****y, brash and quick to anger youngster in tow and during the next few years Lee Roy won more than a 100 Sportsman and Modified features. Klein finally grew tired of Yarbrough's temper and attitude and the pair parted company.
Lee Roy knocked around for a few years and then surfaced at Daytona International Speedway in 1962 and won his first "big" race on the famed high banks, the Modified-Sportsman 250 run every year as a prelim to the Daytona 500. He went on to win 37 NASCAR Late Model Sportsman races in '62.
He joined the Grand National ranks driving for Ray Fox with mediocre success, two short track wins in '64.
Finally the sky brightened in 1966 when he teamed with car owner Jon Thorne to win the National 500 at Charlotte, NC
Lee Roy tried the Indianapolis 500 in 1967 but the trip was less than successful. Driving the Jim Robbins car, he tangled with Cale Yarborough and Lloyd Ruby on the 87th lap and crashed hard into the outer wall and finished 27th.
However the sun continued to shine for our boy in NASCAR land and in Oct. of '67 the legendary Junior Johnson hired him to drive for Johnson's factory Ford team with Herb Nab as crew chief.
The next year, '68, was a learning year as Johnson and Nab learned to communicate and understand some of the strange quirks of Lee Roy's personality.
Then came the unbelievable successes of 1969, a victory in the Daytona 500 was followed by wins in the Rebel 400 at Darlington, Firecracker 400 at Daytona, Dixie 500 at Atlanta, and the Southern 500 for a clean sweep at Darlington.
There was one more chance for still more glory, in 1970, the inaugural California 500 at the spanking new Ontario Motor Speedway. It was a dandy race from the git go with Lloyd Ruby, Al Unser, Dan Gurney, Peter Revson swapping the lead with regularity and Lee Roy running close to the leaders all the time.
Finally with 14 laps to go Al Unser had taken the lead and looked to have things well in hand. Then, bingo, transmission trouble forced Al into the pits and out of nowhere came Lee Roy to claim the lead.
But fortune frowned on Yarbrough and with victory in sight, nine laps to go, Lee Roy's Brabham-Offy blew its engine and Lee Roy coasted to an eighth place finish.
Art Pollard and Jim McElreath dueled the remaining few laps for the lead, with Jimmy pulling into Victory Lane to be greeted, and receive the handshake, from California Governor Ronald Reagen.
Lee Roy had reached the pinnacle of his mountain.
A hard crash, while testing tires at Texas World Speedway later in 1970 rattled Lee Roy's cage pretty badly and left him disoriented. In fact he couldn't remember fellow driver Cale Yarborough picking him up in Texas a few days later and flying him home. The he couldn't remember flying on to Martinsville, or running in the race at Martinsville.
Three more trips to Indianapolis, 1969, '70 and '71, ended without success and the '71 trip was a total disaster. On May 8, 1971 Yarbrough was driving a Dan Gurney Eagle when he spun and crashed hard in turn one. Lee Roy spent the next few months, June thru November, in and out of the hospital with many different ailments and memory lapses
Some said it was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, some said he had a serious drinking problem, some said it was the memory of too many concrete walls.
Lee Roy tried a comeback in 1972 but on Sept. 24, at Marinsville, Va. he drove a race car for the last time, he crashed on the 109th lap. Lee Roy's trip down from his mountain top had taken less than three years.
He pretty much dropped out of sight for the next few years, but every once in a while there would be a brief mention about Lee Roy being back in the hospital for treatment of memory lapse and violent behavior again.
Feb. 13, 1980 it happened. Something snapped and Lee Roy savagely attacked his Mother, nearly choking her to death.
On March 7, 1980 Lee Roy was judged incompetent to stand trial for attempted murder and was committed to a Florida mental hospital.
Then on Dec.6,1984 Yarbrough had a violent seizure and fell striking his head. He was rushed to Jacksonville's University Hospital where he died the morning of Dec.7,1984. The doctors said he died of internal bleeding in the brain, those who knew him said he died because he was tired of living at the bottom of his mountain.
Lee Roy Yarbrough had enjoyed a brief time at the peak of his mountain, but it wasn't until 1990 that his peers recognized his exceptional talent when it came to driving a race car.
The Southern Motorsports Writers elected Lee Roy Yarbrough into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame At Darlington, SC Raceway in 1990.
