Speaking of Toyota......
October 24, 2006
Robert Yates Racing: A Casualty of Toyota?
by Carol Einarsson
Speed's televised interview with Robert Yates last month was like a train wreck. You know, when you can't stop watching no matter how terrible it is to see? It was a heart-breaking interview with a man that has given so much to our sport, sounding like he was about to give up.
We saw reminders of the glory days. Robert is a self-made man who, through hard work alone worked his way up to the top and was one of the most respected team owners in NASCAR. He weathered loss after loss, and often without the public realizing how his heart grieved.
When Davey died, all sympathies were with the Allison family. How could they NOT be? But what most didn't stop to realize is that Robert was grieving, too, not for the loss of an employee, but as if he'd lost his own son. He'd known Davey since he was a little boy. But Robert rebuilt.
When Ernie Irvan crashed at Michigan and was hanging on to life by only a thread and a 10% chance of survival, few knew that Robert was plagued with guilt. Wondering if his car had somehow failed. Were the roll bars not quite right, was the cockpit too small, was there something mechanical that put the car into the wall? Despite nobody else blaming Robert Yates for that near-fatal accident, he blamed himself. But Robert rebuilt.
And when Ernie came back and won at the track that tried to kill him, Robert was finally relieved of that burden.
That crash, though, brought something good to Robert Yates - a temporary driver to fill in for the injured Irvan - Dale Jarrett. Dale Jarrett signed on with Yates knowing that it would be only until Ernie returned. But he was so good that Robert decided to create a second team just for DJ. That was 10 years ago.
The relationship between DJ and Robert Yates was solid. DJ had every intention of finishing out his racing career with Yates Racing, and he so much as told Robert that was his plan.
But then Toyota and Michael Waltrip came knocking.
Continued Here>>>>>
Interesting and provoking. NASCAR is such big business now, it seems there is little left over for loyalty and friendships.
The seeking of $$$ over loyalty compromises those things which are important in life and inevitably leads to difficulties. Such is the struggle.
Thanks for that link. great read.
RYR sure has had some tough times as of late. Really hard to watch your driver trying to struggle through that.
I really do think that they were just too wrapped up in the "RYR world" to pay attention to what was changing around them.
Hopefully, RYR will be around for some time. I just read that Robert said they were real close to signing a major sponsor for the 88 car next year. Hope so.
Did you catch DJ's power ranking on Nascar.Com? 88 - 44 - 22...lol
and from Catchfence (I think)....
Q: I see where David Ragan won’t be allowed to run Atlanta. That’s odd for NASCAR to do something like that. Why do you think they’d keep him from running? Krystal
A: The NASCAR receptionist just called; Ken Schrader left that piece of his bumper on Mike Helton’s desk.
lol
Thanks again for the link.