NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough fighting incurable genetic disease

Bad news for NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough as the 84-year-old is fighting what his family says is a “rare genetic disorder.” Since April, Yarborough has been in poor health. John Dodson, a former crew member of Yarborough and VP of NASCAR for Universal Techincal Institute, sounded the alarm back then. Now we have an update.

Cale Yarborough’s daughter posted an update on Facebook. It was then shared to Twitter. In the latest update, things are not looking great for the NASCAR icon. The family is asking for continued prayers as they go through this ordeal.

While there is no cure, there are ways to mitigate the symptoms of his disorder, according to his daughter.

“Update on Daddy,” Kelley Yarborough Woody wrote. “Genetic testing results give us a diagnosis. He has a VERY, VERY rare genetic disorder on his SPG 7 gene. There is no cure. He will continue to decline. However, medications, physical and occupational therapy are keys o treating symptoms. It is one of those ‘it is what it is’ situations. Thank you all for caring about him. Please continue to keep him and my mother in your prayers.”

Latest Update on Cale Yarborough from his daughter pic.twitter.com/18VLQWTsUb

— Johnny Dickson (@dickson_johnny) July 6, 2023

This is very unfortunate news. NASCAR wouldn’t be what it is today without Cale Yarborough and his contributions to the sport. He has been a fan favorite in the past, lived in the hearts and minds of fans throughout decades, and left his mark on the sport forever.

Let’s hope that the NASCAR champion is able to deal with this health issue as best he can.

Cale Yarborough, NASCAR legend

You will be hard-pressed to find many NASCAR drivers with a resume as extensive and impressive as Cale Yarborough. You could start the list of his accomplishments with the fact that Yarborough got started in NASCAR with a disqualification – he lied about his age.

By 1957, Yarborough was racing though. By 1965, he was winning races. While it took him more than a few years to win, and get a full-time ride, the winning didn’t stop when it started. By the time he drove in his last race in 1988, Yarborough had 83 wins, 319 top tens, and 69 pole awards, in just 560 races.

That is just the tip of the iceberg for the driver. He was a three-time Cup Series champion, winning his titles in a three-peat between 1976 and 1978. Yarborough was also a four-time Daytona 500 winner, five-time Southern 500 winner, two-time Winston 500 winner, and a one-time Talladega 500 winner.

We could be here all day and list his accomplishments. Above all else, Cale Yarborough is a figure to look up to. His racing career puts him in rare air, but the impact he had on NASCAR fans is his real legacy.