Doug Yates offers health update on his father, Robert Yates
Doug Yates, the CEO of Roush Yates Engines and the son of legendary NASCAR owner Robert Yates, offered a health update on his father Monday.
Yates was speaking with reporters on a teleconference call when he was asked about Robert Yates, who has been battling liver cancer.
“My dad is hanging tough," Doug Yates said. "He’s got two more chemo treatments and then hopefully they can go to surgery, but he’s hanging tough."
The younger Yates said his father is pumped about the pending start to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, as usual. The 2017 season kicks off with the 59th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26 live on FOX.
He said Robert Yates also got a big kick out of watching the recent Rolex 24 at Daytona.
"He gets excited when we start racing, so he’s ready for us to get to Daytona," Doug Yates said. "After the Rolex (we were) standing there in Victory Lane with (Ford officials) Dave (Pericak) and Raj (Nair) and the guys from Ford and (owner) Chip Ganassi. I had Chip call him up and that was really special to me and (Ganassi) gave him some more encouragement. But I appreciate you asking about him and hopefully he’ll get through this thing.”
The Yates family revealed that Robert was beginning to undergo treatment for liver cancer last November.
In 21 years as a NASCAR Premier Series team owner, Robert Yates won 57 races and 49 poles. In 1999, NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett won the championship driving the No. 88 Robert Yates Racing Ford Thunderbird.
Early on, Yates built his reputation as one of NASCAR’s finest engine builders, which Doug carries on today as the head of Roush Yates Engines.
Robert Yates began his career at Holman-Moody Racing in 1968 and three years later moved on to work with another NASCAR Hall of Fame member in Junior Johnson.
Yates built the engines that powered Bobby Allison to a Premier Series championship in 1983 with DiGard Racing. In the late 1980s, Yates launched his own team, Robert Yates Racing.
All told, Yates won three Daytona 500s as a car owner, the first with Davey Allison and the next two with Jarrett.
