The life and times of Brock Yates, the legendary automotive journalist who passed away in October of 2016, will be the subject of the conversation on February 24 at the International Motor Racing Research Center as part of the Center’s monthly “Conversations” series.
Pamela Yates, Brock’s wife, and their daughter Stacy Bradley, will present “Looking at the World Through a Windshield,” a selection of related stories about the main man in their lives. The Saturday talk, sponsored in part by the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, will begin at 1 p.m. and is open to all. A $5 donation for admission is requested to help defray costs. The Racing Research Center is located at 610 S. Decatur St., Watkins Glen, New York.
“We can tell stories about the good Brock Yates and about the bad-boy Brock Yates,” said Pamela Yates. “He had a marvelous life, which he lived the way he wanted to.”
Yates wrote 15 books, including Sunday Driver and Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Cars, The Races, The Machine. He was associated with Car and Driver magazine for more than 40 years and also enjoyed years as a motorsports broadcast commentator.
His creation of the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in 1971 turned Yates into a pop culture icon. He wrote the screenplays for the successful films The Cannonball Run I and Smokey and the Bandit II.
Yates was a member of the IMRRC’s Governing Council for nine years and established a collection in the archives.
“He just loved history. He was very open to and curious about everything,” Pamela Yates said.
Yates was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona in June 2017, and the Watkins Glen Drivers Walk of Fame in September 2017.His marker is located in front of the Center.
For complete information, please visit www.racingarchives.org
