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Cameron Yost
Cameronyost51.png
Nationality American
Born 30 April 1922
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Died 15 December 2018
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Achievements 1950, 1951 National Stock Car Series Champion
1951 Icebreaker Sweepstakes Winner
1984 Snowball Derby Winner
World Stock Car Championship
31 races run over 2 season(s).
Team(s) Ted Hansen
Championships 2
Pole Positions 10
Wins 12
Podiums 22
Top 5s 22
Top 10s 25
First Start 1950 Icebreaker Sweepstakes
First Win 1950 NSCS Race 07
Last Win 1951 NSCS Race 20
Last Start 1951 Turkey Bowl
WSCC Canon Driver


Cameron Bruce Yost (30 April 1922 - 15 December 2018) was an American stock car driver who competed in the World Stock Car Championship from 1950 until 1981. He was a two-time champion of the National Stock Car Series, including the inaugural season of professional stock car racing. He is well-known for his tenures with Studebaker - having driven for the marque from 1950 until it withdrew from motorsports at the end of 1958 - and the Thompson Brothers, who he raced for between 1966 and 1977. Yost was the winner of the 1951 Icebreaker Sweepstakes. Yost, alongside contemporaries Peter Stafford and Howard Joyce, are considered the best drivers of their era, and Yost is considered one of the greatest drivers of all time.

Early Life and Career[edit | edit source]

Yost was born in New Haven's Prospect Hill neighborhood. He played basketball and baseball at Hillhouse High School, and began racing at local short tracks during his junior year. He put his racing ambitions on hold upon enlisting in the Navy in 1941, and served at the Naval Base in Groton, Connecticut, building and repairing submarines before moving into a logistics assignment in the later part of the war. Yost opted not to reenlist after the war was over, and chose to resume racing in 1946.

It was in 1947, after a street race in nearby Stratford, that Yost met eventual business partner Ted Hansen, whose family owned a local Studebaker dealership. The duo would enter races across the Northeast to promote the dealership, and quickly gained prominence in both the modified and stock car racing scenes.

WSCC Career[edit | edit source]

Yost would enter the inaugural National Stock Car Series season in 1950, opting to run nine of the ten races alongside Hansen with a Studebaker Champion.

1950[edit | edit source]

Yost started off strong, winning the pole for the fifth running of The Icebreaker; despite leading 259 of the 500 laps, mechanical issues would relegate him to 8th place. Yost experienced similar issues at Seekonk Speedway and Flemington Raceway. He would finish the year with six straight podium finishes, including a win at the New York State Fair. Despite only winning one race, Yost dominated much of the season, leading 1153 of 2989 laps; this was despite not racing in the series' race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Yost battled Peter Stafford for the championship in the series finale at Riverside Park Speedway. With Stafford exiting the race early due to an engine failure, Yost was able to capture the series championship with a third-place finish.

1951[edit | edit source]

Yost and Ted Hansen entered into a limited partnership with Studebaker during the 1950-1951 offseason, and the pair would open the 1951 National Stock Car Series by winning the first three races: the sixth running of The Icebreaker, and the races at Williams Grove Speedway and Langhorne Speedway. Yost would add further wins at Bowman Gray Stadium, North Wilkesboro Speedway, the New York State Fair, Syracuse, Niagara, Scarborough, Warwick, and Seekonk, totalling 11 wins in all. Yost was again crowned series champion for 1951, having lead 2824 laps (52.3% of all laps run) and secured an average finish of 6.14.

Politics[edit | edit source]

Yost attempted to run for mayor of New Haven following his 1981 retirement from motorsports. He ran for the Democratic Party nomination in 1983 and 1985, both times losing to incumbent mayor Ben DiLieto. Much of his platform was focused on combating the growing presence of organized crime in New Haven, which DiLieto successfully spun as being "anti-Italian"; Yost would later be vindicated when DiLieto himself was charged with conspiracy related to the Sabatelli crime family.

Yost was active in politics for much of his life, volunteering for multiple presidential campaigns (including the successful bids of John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter). He was called as a witness during the Congressional investigation into the Olivanti Motorsports scandal in 1994.

Personal Life[edit | edit source]

Yost was married to childhood sweetheart Renee Hamilton from 1948 until her death in 2004. They had four children: Cameron Jr. (b. 1951), Ted (b. 1953), Meredith (b. 1955), and Stephen (b. 1958), all of whom attended the University of Connecticut. Yost built the family home in 1954; his son Ted currently occupies the residence with his family.

Yost would occasionally run one-off races after his retirement from full-time racing. He is the oldest winner of the Snowball Derby, having won the 1984 running of the event at 62 years old.

Death[edit | edit source]

Yost died at Yale-New Haven Hospital on December 15, 2018 at age 96; he had been suffering from pneumonia at the time of his death.

Legacy[edit | edit source]

Yost is widely considered by many to be among the greatest stock car drivers of all time, with many commentators citing his numerous series wins and championships, as well as the longevity of his career.

Yost was responsible for a number of firsts in series history, including:

  • First stock car racing championship - 1950
  • First repeat champion - 1951
  • First driver to win consecutive championships - 1950 and 1951
  • First driver to win three consecutive races - 1951 (1951 Icebreaker Sweepstakes, 1951 Round of Harrisburg, 1951 Round of Pennsylvania)
  • First driver to win consecutive races multiple times in one season - 1951
  • First driver to win three consecutive races multiple times in one season - 1951
  • First driver to ten career wins - 1951 Round of Maine
  • First driver to win ten races in one season - 1951 (achieved at Warwick)

Racing Record[edit | edit source]

Complete World Stock Car Championship Results[edit | edit source]

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Pts
1950 Ted Hansen 1950 Studebaker ICE
8
SEK
12
FLM
20
LNG
2
BGR DAY
3
ROC
1
CMS
2
WRW
3
TUR
3
1st 1382
1951 ICE
1
WGS
1
LNG
1
NSH
2
FLM
29
WTS
10
1st 4572
1951 Studebaker LVA
2
BGR
1
NWS
1
DAY
16
ATL
2
GRN
25
ROC
1
SYR
1
NIA
1
CMS
24
PHF
3
BCH
1
WRW
1
SEK
1
NLW
9
TUR
2

The Icebreaker[edit | edit source]

Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1950 Ted Hansen Studebaker 1 8
1951 Ted Hansen Studebaker 1 1

The Turkey Bowl[edit | edit source]

Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1950 Ted Hansen Studebaker 2 3
1951 Ted Hansen Studebaker 10 2

Links[edit | edit source]

Sporting Positions
Previous
None
NSCS Driver's Champion
1950, 1951
Next
Current
Achievements
Previous
Ben Rogers
Icebreaker Sweepstakes Winners
1951
Next
Current
Previous
Gabriel Kingsley
Snowball Derby Winners
1984
Next
Dale Fairclough