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William Caleb Yarborough was born on March 27, 1940, in Timmonsville, South Carolina. After trying life as a turkey farmer, as well as a substitute running back on the Sumter, South Carolina Generals football team, Cale started racing in 1957. His aim? To become a NASCAR racing star. By 1962, he had 12 Grand National starts and $535 in prize money. By 1965, Yarborough had one win (the Valdosta 100 in Valdosta, Georgia) and 34 top ten finishes. He went with the Wood Brothers team in 1966. In 1967, he began to create his legend, winning his first 500-mile race in Atlanta, qualified the Bryant Heating Special for the 7th row in the Indy 500, and earned the pole position in NASCAR's World 600. In 1968, Yarborough had his best year, winning both Daytona races, the Atlanta 500, and the Southern 500. Though he never duplicated his 1968 banner year, he kept driving through 1988. During his 31-year racing career, Yarborough was credited with 83 Winston Cup wins (three in a row in 1976, 1977, and 1978), and 50 super-speedway wins (48 of them from the pole position). In 1977, he was named Driver of the Year. In 1993, Yarborough was inducted into the National Motorsports Hall of Fame. His three Winston Cup victories (all in the Winston Select 500), another win in the IROC Series, and a tie for sixth-place on Talladega's all-time win list (fifth on the list of Talladega's all-time lap leaders at 58, and second in poles at 6) won Yarborough an induction into the Talladega “Texaco Walk of Fame – Inactive Category.” Yarborough still lives in Timmonsville, SC with his wife Betty Joe and spends his time managing the Yarborough Racing Team, which he purchased from Jack Bee in 1987. They have three grown daughters, Julie, Kelley, and B. J. According to Junior Johnson, another NASCAR legend, “Cale Yarborough is the best driver the sport has ever seen. When you strap Cale into the car, it's like adding 20 horsepower.”
A bit of racing trivia: The 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was offered to the public with a 351-cid engine, but raced with a 429-cid engine (as shown on the hood of the GMP display car) in NASCAR races. Ironically, Cale Yarborough didn’t win Daytona in the Spoiler II that bore his name in a signature edition in 1969—another Yarborough did. LeeRoy Yarborough, using a slingshot pass that Cale used on him to win the year before, swept past Charlie Glotzbach in the last lap to take the checkered flag.
GMP has put out two racing livery, signature images of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II NASCAR cars, one bearing the Dan Gurney name and one the Cale Yarborough name. These racecars campaigned at a time before NASCAR cars were standardized and fans not only rooted for their favorite driver, but for their favorite manufacturer. 519 cars were to be produced with 19.5 inches of extended nose for NASCAR certification. Back then, they were supposed to run stock cars—unlike today, where about the only stock item is the name stenciled on the custom-formed body shell over a tubular frame. One version bears Yarborough’s #21 on the roof and doors, along with a red roof and side pinstripes (the racing stripes on the hood are black). The other bears Gurney’s #12, along with a blue roof and side pinstripes.
There’s no need for me to rehash Rich Sufficool’s fine review, for he has pointed out all of GMP’s fine features. Let me just say that GMP improves their images each time they release a new project, the ’69 Cyclones being the third so far. It’s obvious they listen to their design engineers—and their customers—as they go. Already they have changed what might be considered a couple of minor problems, among them going from hard plastic to soft plastic seats and putting in working rear suspensions. Under-the-hood, in-the-trunk, interior, and undercarriage detailing is a good as any of the other mints. The doors open car-style and I feel they’ll eventually go to car-style hood hinges as well. Even if they don’t, GMP is clearly going the “most bang for the buck” route in producing its 1:24 images, while keeping them at a competitive price. Don’t forget, they’re just starting out in the precision, 1:24 scale arena and collector support is crucial at this stage. The only question you have to ask yourself is whether you need two versions of these sleek, aesthetically pleasing ’69 Cyclone Spoiler II images. Whether you go for one or the other—or both versions—you’ll own limited editions that are sure to maintain their value over the years. Then again, there’s the issue of whether you could ever part with them.
(05/22/2005)
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