CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Robert Yates has been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and was able to write his own speech for the ceremony.
The championship-winning car owner and engine builder was elected to the Hall in May but died five months later at the age of 74. His acceptance speech was read by Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett, who won the 1999 championship driving for Yates.
Yates started as an engine builder who learned from Waddell Wilson and Junior Johnson. He built the powerplants for Bobby Allison’s 1983 Cup championship team, and the engines used when Richard Petty drove to his 199th and 200th victories – his last – of Petty’s career.
Ron Hornaday Jr. speaks after being inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Davey Allison won Yates his first race as a car owner in 1989. Yates won 57 Cup races as an owner, including three Daytona 500 victories with Allison and Jarrett.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr., right, greets broadcaster Ken Squier as Squier is inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
2017 NASCAR Cup series champion Martin Truex Jr. speaks about 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Red Byron, photo on right, during the induction ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Members of Red Byron’s family celebrate as they accept a ring from Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley, right, during NASCAR’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, looks toward a video screen as Ken Squier, right, is inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Ron Hornaday Jr. celebrates after being inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
2014 NASCAR Cup series champion Kevin Harvick, right, jokes with Ron Hornaday Jr. as Hornaday is inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Ray Evernham, left, receives his ring from his son, Ray J. Evernham, center, as Jeff Gordon, right, applauds during the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Ray Evernham speaks after being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Ray Evernham, left, hugs Jeff Gordon after being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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