It’s been more than five years since the famed #28 Yates Racing Ford last spun laps around a NASCAR track. March 22, 2009 to be exact. And while the #28 is free for teams to use – with NASCAR’s permission, of course – there is a certain respect that follows that number. It’s with that respect that former team owner Doug Yates occasionally fields a call for permission to use the number that was driven famously by the likes of Fred Lorenzen, Davey Allison and Ernie Irvan. “I got a call at the beginning of last season from a driver that asked me if it would be OK to use the number,” said Yates. “He asked that I think about it and he’d check in a little later.” Yates did think about it, and even talked it over with family. And when that driver called back, it didn’t take long for him to figure out the answer. Said Yates: “I answered my phone and immediately the driver said to me – “I get it. Don’t say any more.’ “(CMS)(1-30-2015)
