Brock Wendel Yates was an American print and TV journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, an American automotivemagazine. He was a pit reporter for CBS' coverage of certain NASCAR Cup Series 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. Paul Page, Gary Gerould, and Ralph Sheheen also occasionally appeared on the show. He served as a commentator on racing and vintage cars for the Speed Channel, a U.S. cable television channel affiliated with Fox Sports. Yates was a best-selling author, most frequently about automotive topics and motor sport. Some of his 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." A recurring theme of his nonfiction work was the way American automotive management frequently grew arrogant, lost touch with its markets, and failed to respond to changing public needs/tastes, technology, and energy/environmental concerns. Yates' first articles appeared in Science and Mechanics magazine when he was 16 years old. Yates wrote for The Truth About Cars briefly in January and February 2008. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2017.
Cannonball Run
Yates was inspired by Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker,, who set several coast-to-coast records, to initiate the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. This cross-continent road race was a protest against the loss of personal freedom in America, and speed limits in particular. The first run was completed as a reconnaissance by Brock and a friend traveling coast-to-coast in a full-size Dodge van. The first actual 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 moviesCannonball! and The Gumball Rally. The event has continued on in the form of the Tire RackOne Lap of America Presented by Grassroots Motorsport Magazine. The event is now run by his son Brock Yates, Jr. 2018 will see the 35th anniversary of the event.
Screenwriting
Yates along with friend, director and stuntman Hal Needham, wrote Smokey and the Bandit II. Yates also wrote the screenplay for The Cannonball Run film with the intention of giving the lead role to Steve McQueen. However, McQueen was diagnosed with cancer early in 1980 and was unable to do the film, leading to the casting of Burt Reynolds. Yates had a brief cameo in The Cannonball Run as the race organizer who lays out the ground rules before the beginning of the race. While Yates was not involved in them, The Cannonball Run was followed by one sequel using his characters, Cannonball Run II, and a second sequel, Speed Zone, which, apart from being about the race and a small cameo by Jamie Farr's character, had no other connections.
