The drivers and crew chiefs tend to be the stars of our sport, but they don't have success without the help of guys like Robert Yates.  Engine builders may be like the offensive linemen of NASCAR; you only hear about them when things go wrong.

That was anything but the case with Yates.  His power plants were well-known and widely-respected because they were so fast…especially at places like Daytona and Talladega, where horsepower was the key.  And, he passed along that knowledge to his son, Doug, who heads up Roush/Yates Engines, and has been having a really good year.

Robert Yates won championships as both a crewman and owner.  But, probably more importantly, he was a champion as a person.  You'd be hard-pressed to find a nicer person in the garage area than Robert Yates.

I hate that he won't be there when he's inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January, but am grateful that he got to know that he was in; and got to enjoy it.