When Cale Yarborough won a third-straight NASCAR title in 1978, he never expected that it would take 30 years for someone else to challenge that record.
Now that two-time reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson appears on the way to doing just that, Yarborough has mixed feelings about sharing the record that some thought was untouchable.
“The handwriting’s on the wall,” Yarborough said. “It’s going to happen.
“I understand that I was Jimmie’s hero when he was growing up, so if he does it more power to him,” the longtime NASCAR star added.
Then that old competitive streak that helped Yarborough to 83 race wins, including four Daytona 500s, showed itself.
“That don’t mean I’m pulling for him,” Yarborough added, laughing. “But, if he does it, I’ll be in good company. I hope he feels the same way.”
For Yarborough, who raced in NASCAR’s top series for 23 seasons before retiring in 1988, Johnson is something of a throwback to the drivers of his era.
“I’ve watched Jimmie,” he said. “He’s the kind of driver that likes to run up front. That’s the way I drove. I can see a lot of me in Jimmie. I can appreciate what he’s doing. He’s got his head on straight and he’s doing everything right and I can appreciate that.”
Asked if he would have to change his style if he was racing today, Yarborough said, “I never was one to do much calculating. I went all out every lap I ever raced in my whole career. I’d still be doing it today.
“The only thing I can say is Jimmie better be glad I’m not racing with him today.”
But Yarborough said he thinks championships were tougher to win back in his day.
“I think it may have been harder to win (championships) back then than it is today because you had to compete against everybody,” Yarborough said, referring to the limited number of drivers eligible to win the championship under the Chase format.
“You know, even though the points system has changed, to be the champion you still got to do better than anybody else has done. That’s the bottom line.”
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