now Yates Racing
Robert Yates Racing is a former NASCAR Sprint Cup team owned by Robert Yates and and his son Doug Yates. Yates started the company in 1989 and it grew to a three car team winning the Sprint Cup championship in 1999. In 2008 Robert Yates retired and handed the company over to his son Doug Yates.
History[]
#38 History[]
Sadler had 2 poles, 2 top 5's. he finally captured his first Cup win in 2004 at Texas Motor SpeedwaVFy followed by another Fontana. In 2006 Sadler announced he signed with Evernham Motorsports for 2007, Yates released Sadler. Yates decided to hire Busch Series driver David Gilliland to finish the 2006 and 2007, the rest is uncertain.
#28 History[]
In 1994 Robert Yates started a Winston team, fielding the #28 Texaco Havoline Ford driven by Ernie Irvan who just joined RYR. He ran only 21 of 31 races with 5 poles and 3 wins. During the 1995 season Irvan only ran 3 races. Irvan took abscense the rest of the season. Yates hired Dale Jarrett to fill in. Irvan returned in 1996 with new partner Jarrett, Irvan captured 1 pole 2 wins and 10 top 5's. At the end of the 1997 season Irvan decided to leave to drive for Nelson Bowers. Yates found young Kenny Irwin Jr. to replace Irvan. Irwin drove the #28 for RYR during the 1998 and 1999 seasons - winning three poles, and posting four top 5's and 12 top 10's. At the end of the 1999 season Irwin Jr. was replaced by Ricky Rudd, who would drive the famed #28 entry over the next three seasons (2000, 2001, 2002). Rudd scored three wins and four poles during his tenue at RYR. At the end of the 2002 season Rudd left for the Wood Brothers. In 2003 Yates changed the #28 to #38, dropping sponsor Havoline and switching to M&M's, signing 28 year old Elliott Sadler.
#88 History[]
For the 1995 season, Ernie Irvan asked and received from RYR a one-year leave of absense. As a result,Dale Jarrett was hired to drive the #28 (coming over from Joe Gibbs Racing in previous years). However, Irvan would come back into the RYR fold in three late-season Cup races (North Wilkesboro II, Phoenix, Atlanta II). For those events, RYR received additional sponsor support from Texaco Havoline which enabled Irvan to drive a second Yates entry - the #88. For 1996, Yates saw the opportunity to continue campaigning two full-time entries for two of the hottest drivers in the sport. Both Jarrett and Irvan would make up RYR's foray as a two-car team with two full-time entries. But a slight twist would ensue: Irvan and Jarrett would swap numbers for '96 - with the #28 going back to Irvan, and Jarrett in an all-new sponsored #88 Ford Quality Care entry for the next five seasons (1996, '97, '98, '99, '00). Through 2001 Jarrett won 20 races with 119 top 5's, winning the Cup championship in 1999. Beginning in 2001 UPS took over sponsorship of the #88 and Jarrett. In mid-2006 Jarett announced he was leaving RYR and signed with Michael Waltrip Racing and UPS would go with him. Yates thought about hiring devolopment driver Stephen Leicht but decided he wasn't ready for rigors and demands of Sprint Cup competition. For the 2007 season, Yates opted to re-hire veteran driver Ricky Rudd (who had driven the Yates #28 from 2000-2002). Mars Incorporated brand Snickers signed as the primary sponsor of the #88 Rudd-driven entry for one year. The end of the 2007 season marked the end of the #88 at RYR for good (Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports requested and received permission to take the number beginning in 2008). For the 2008 season, Yates' (former #88) changed back to the #28 in order to make way for Travis Kvapil and the re-vamped Yates Racing two-car team (with teammate David Gilliland driving the #38).
#90 History[]
the #90 CitiFinacial Ford driven by Stephen Leicht in the Busch Series.
Team Statistics[]
In the 17 years of Robert Yates Racing the drivers have had 897 starts, 57 wins, 266 top fives, 415 top tens, 45 poles, and one championship (Dale Jarrett in 1999).