Cale Yarborough, three-time NASCAR champion in '70s, dies at 84 - ESPN

Cale Yarborough, considered one of NASCAR's all-time greatest drivers and the first to win three consecutive Cup titles, died Sunday at the age of 84.

Yarborough's crowning achievements include four Daytona 500 victories and five Southern 500 wins at his home track of Darlington Raceway.

His championships in 1976, 1977 and 1978 made him the only driver to win three straight NASCAR titles until Jimmie Johnson's run of five in a row from 2006 to 2010. Yarborough and Johnson are tied on NASCAR's career wins list with 83.

«Cale Yarborough was one of the toughest competitors NASCAR has ever seen,» NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. «His combination of talent, grit and determination separated Cale from his peers, both on the track and in the record book. He was respected and admired by competitors and fans alike and was as comfortable behind the wheel of a tractor as he was behind the wheel of a stock car. On behalf of the France family and NASCAR, I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Cale Yarborough.»

Johnson honored his «childhood hero» in a post on social media, saying «the legacy of Cale Yarborough will forever live on.»

Cale Yarborough was my childhood hero. What an honor to be tied with the legend for 83 Cup series wins. He was «the man» and the legacy of Cale Yarborough will forever live on. My deepest condolences to Cale's family. pic.twitter.com/xcikjl2pu6

Yarborough competed in NASCAR's top series for more than four decades, making his debut in the 1957 Southern 500 and closing his career in Atlanta in 1988. He won his final race in Charlotte in 1985 and had 319 career top-10 finishes and 69 pole positions. A three-time Driver of the Year award winner, Yarborough was