Monster Energy update: Robert Yates ‘hanging tough’ in battle with … – Nascar

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Former NASCAR championship-winning team owner Robert Yates is “hanging tough” in his battle with liver cancer and has nearly completed chemotherapy treatments, according to his son, Doug Yates.

“He has two more and then hopefully they can go to surgery,” Yates, CEO of Roush Yates Engines, said during a teleconference Monday.

“But he’s hanging tough. He gets excited when we start racing so he’s ready for us to get to Daytona.”

Robert Yates, 73, was diagnosed with liver cancer late last year.

As a team owner, his Robert Yates Racing organization captured the 1999 championship with driver Dale Jarrett in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. From 1989 through 2009, his organization won 57 races and scored 433 top-10 finishes in 1,155 starts. Included among the victories were three Daytona 500 wins, with Davey Allison in ’92 and Jarrett in ’96 and ’00.

Prior to his becoming a team owner, Yates built engines that helped carry numerous NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers to Victory Lane, including Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. Allison’s 1983 title came with Yates as engine builder. Among the teams that benefitted from his knowledge and talent under the hood were Holman-Moody, Junior Johnson & Associates and DiGard Racing.

Today, Roush Yates Engines also supplies power outside of NASCAR, and most recently celebrated a Ford GT LM win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with team owner Chip Ganassi.

“After the Rolex, standing there in Victory Lane with Dave (Pericak) and Raj (Nair) and the guys from Ford and Chip Ganassi, I had Chip call him up,” Doug Yates said, “and that was really special to me and gave him some more encouragement.

“Hopefully he’ll get through this thing.”

Roush Yates Engines, which was formed in 2003, is the exclusive engine builder for Ford Performance and all Ford teams competing in NASCAR’s three national series.