Brock Yates obit

A Tribute to the Late Brock Yates

A master of automotive journalism dead at 82

 

He was not on the list.

Brock Yates was never afraid of a fight. In a journalism career that stretched across six decades (including, most notably, four with Car and Driver magazine), Yates took on everything from an indifferent U.S. automotive industry to the federal government itself, founding the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in protest of increasingly Draconian highway regulations. On October 5, following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s, Brock Yates died at age 82.

As Brock related in Cannonball! World’s Greatest Outlaw Road Race, the cross-country endurance event was founded to demonstrate that competent drivers in modern automobiles could use the U.S. Interstate highway system in much the same manner as Germans used the (mostly) speed-limit-free Autobahn. After a May 1971 proof-of-concept test in a Dodge van dubbed the Moon Trash II, the first running of the Cannonball in November 1971 produced a New York City to Redondo Beach, California, transit time of 35 hours and 54 minutes. The winning car was a Ferrari Daytona, driven by Brock and Dan Gurney.

Later versions of the Cannonball would take place in 1972, 1975 and 1979, with the final two events held in protest of the 1973 National Maximum Speed Law, which capped interstate highway speeds at 55 MPH. Hemmings Motor News had a presence in the 1979 event, when publisher Terry Ehrich, editor Dave Brownell and Jack-of-all-trades Justus Taylor competed in a 1936 Ford panel van (which still resides in our modest museum), completing the trip in 61 hours and 51 minutes, good enough to finish two spots above last place.

Already a best-selling author, Brock turned to screenwriting, producing the script for the 1981 Hollywood blockbuster The Cannonball Run and contributing to the script for Smokey and Bandit II. His first love, however, remained automotive journalism, and his adventures during his years at Car and Driver (such as driving a then-new 1976 Corvette along the Alaskan Highway, or showing the mongrel hot rod Eliminator race car at Pebble Beach) are what prompted many of us to put pen to paper (or, today, pixels to monitor).

Brock’s storied career at Car and Driver came to an end in 2006, when he was fired by editor-in-chief Csaba Csere for being, in Brock’s own words, “too expensive.” Following his departure, Brock initially stayed busy working as a racing commentator, penning editorials and running One Lap of America, the endurance driving event that arose from the ashes of the Cannonball (and is still run annually, now headed by Brock Yates, Jr.).

It was around this time that Brock’s memory lapses became more frequent and more noticeable to family and friends, although an official diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease wouldn’t occur until 2007. As late as 2011, Brock was still active and (occasionally) in the public eye, contributing to a Cannonball panel discussion at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance with the assistance of his wife, Pam. Just two years later, Brock’s illness had progressed to the point that he required around-the-clock care.

Brock leaves behind his wife Pamela; children Stacy, Brock Jr., and Shawn; and numerous grandchildren. Those wishing to make donations in his memory are asked to contact the Alzheimer's Association Brock Yates Tribute Fund at Act.Alz.Org.

Yates was inspired by Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, (1882–1960), who set several coast-to-coast records, to initiate the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.

Conceived by Yates and fellow Car and Driver editor Steve Smith, the first run was intended both as a celebration of the United States Interstate Highway System and as a protest against strict traffic laws coming into effect at the time. Another motivation was the fun involved, which showed in the tongue-in-cheek reports in Car and Driver and other auto publications worldwide. The initial cross-country run was made by Yates; his son, Brock Yates, Jr.; Steve Smith; and friend Jim Williams beginning on May 3, 1971, in a 1971 Dodge Custom Sportsman van called the "Moon Trash II."

The first competitive race was won by Brock and Formula One and Le Mans winner Dan Gurney in a Sunoco blue Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. The duo traveled from New York to Los Angeles in a then-record time of 35 hours, 54 minutes. In all, five Cannonballs were run between 1971 and 1979, although Yates never again won. The event was the inspiration for the 1976 movies Cannonball! and The Gumball Rally.

The event has continued on in the form of the Tire Rack One Lap of America Presented by Grassroots Motorsport Magazine. The event is now run by his son Brock Yates, Jr. 2018 saw the 35th anniversary of the event.

As a best-selling author, most frequently about automotive topics and motor sport, some of Yates' articles and commentaries for Car and Driver magazine and other publications have had considerable impact within the auto industry and general public. Beginning with his 1968 critique of the American auto industry, its management, and its products: "The Grosse Pointe Myopians," Yates established a recurring theme in his nonfiction work that American automotive management had grown arrogant, lost touch with its markets, and failed to respond to changing public needs/tastes, technology, and energy/environmental concerns. He developed the thesis in his 1983 book, The Decline and Fall of the American Automotive Industry — and followed up with his 1996 book The Critical Path:Inventing an Automobile and Reinventing a Corporation, a focused look at Chrysler' efforts to recast itself with development of its third generation minivans.

As a pit reporter for CBS', Yates covered certain NASCAR Cup Series (at the time, the Winston Cup) series races in the 1980s, including the Daytona 500. He was also one of the main commentators on the TNN motor sports TV show American Sports Cavalcade with Steve Evans where, on occasion, Paul Page, Gary Gerould, and Ralph Sheheen appeared. He was a commentator on racing and vintage cars at various points between 1995 and 2013 for the Speed Channel, a U.S. cable affiliate of Fox Sports.

Yates wrote for The Truth About Cars briefly in January and February 2008.

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