Doug Yates Honored to Accept Spirit of Ford Award For Yates Family

Ford Racing presented Doug Yates the Spirit of Ford Award, which Yates accepted on behalf of the entire Yates family.

Doug Yates accepts the Spirit of Ford Award on behalf of the Yates family at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 13. | Rusty Jarrett | NKP for Ford Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- In NASCAR, there are some families that catch the racing bug, and for generations, they simply can't shake it. Doug Yates is part of one of those families, and on Friday at the Daytona International Speedway Media Center, Edsel B. Ford II presented Yates with the Spirit of Ford Award, which he accepted on behalf of the Yates family.

"I think it’s fair to say I bleed Ford blue – these days it’s Ford Racing blue," Ford said to kick off the announcement. "But today, I want to talk about a family who I think really does bleed Ford blue — The Yates family. I know because there are very few people in the world who love Ford Motor Company as much as Doug Yates. Doug and his father, Robert, symbolize what’s right with the Ford Racing program, but also what is right about the sport of motor racing itself."

The 2026 season marks Ford's 125th season of racing, and in that time, only 29 others have been awarded the prestigious Spirit of Ford Award. The award is considered to be the highest honor that Ford gives to individuals and families who have made a significant contribution to the sport of auto racing on and off the track.

It was an emotion-filled ceremony, which Yates didn't know was coming, and he was equally proud and sad. Proud that his family's hard work over the years led to this crowning achievement, but sad that his father, Robert Yates, wasn't here to enjoy it by his side.

“What an honor," Yates stated. "I could have never imagined being more proud of being part of the Ford family and I wish my dad, like you said, Edsel, was here to celebrate this with us today, but it’s really special being part of the Ford Racing family – 125 years of racing and winning, starting with your great-grandfather, Henry Ford, and carrying that on today."

Yates quipped that he was glad Joey Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford were able to reach victory lane in Thursday night's America 250 Florida Duel. Celebrating Ford's 125 years of winning, sans a win on Thursday, would have been a little awkward.

Not only was it fitting that Ford awarded the Yates family the award a day after a Ford powered by a Roush-Yates engine visited victory lane, but it's fitting that the Yates family received the honor ahead of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

“My dad lived for the Daytona 500," Yates explained. "That was his life’s dream to be here and win this race."

Yates recalled just how important the Daytona 500 was for his father, as he remembers cutting a family vacation short so they could get back in the shop to prepare their car for the Daytona 500, a race they would go on to win a couple of months later.

"At the end of the 1991 season, Texaco decided to send our family to Hawaii, so my mom, my dad, myself, and my sister went. It was a seven-day trip, and it was around Thanksgiving. And about day three, my dad and I looked at each other like, ‘We’ve got to get back home. We can’t be here in Hawaii. We’ve got to go.’ We were like, ‘Who is gonna tell mom?’ The next thing you know, we’re flying home," Yates said. "We got back to the shop, and we took the clocks off the wall and stayed at the shop for two months straight. We came down here and won that race. Seven days a week, running the dynos until midnight."

Robert Yates Racing would go on to collect the Harley J. Earl Trophy with Davey Allison in 1992, and with Dale Jarrett in 1996 and 2000. Jarrett's win in 2000 remains the last time a Daytona 500 polesitter went on to win the race.

All of these years later, Yates is still doing what he loves most -- tuning engines that go inside of Ford Racing vehicles. Yates says its a testament to how important the Daytona 500 is.

"So, the Daytona 500, we talk about it all the time, is a career-defining moment. If you’re gonna make a name for yourself in the sport, this is the race to win,” Yates said.

As the Yates family is now in possession of the Spirit of Ford Award, the focus now shifts to Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500, where Ford Racing will look to capture another victory in the sport's biggest race. Heading into his 37th year in the sport, Yates has no plans on slowing down anytime soon.