Another week, another road trip, in this case to Bowling Green, KY; sad to say, a funeral for a family member provided the impetus for this particular travel. I will say I did the standard watch for LBCs on the drive down from St Louis but, with the weather marginal at best and steadily wet, didn’t see any of the classics out and about.

Last night, while going through the March/April issue of “Vintage Motorsport” (www.vintagemotorsport.com), a major surprise which added to the general gloom inflicted by the trip circumstances and weather: legendary automotive writer and competitor Brock Yates, in his column, stated he had Alzheimer’s.

While not directly associated with the Brit car community, Yates is in fact legendary for his many years as editor of “Car & Driver;” as Hemmings put it, he “…spent for decades perfecting the art of automotive journalism, winning an equal number of fans and detractors alike. Even those that despised his views and his writing had to admit one thing: When Yates took a position, he was virtually immovable and a puppet to no one.”

Besides editing C&D, Yates wrote for multiple other magazines and served as a motorsports commentator with CBS and the Speed Channel. He’s also notable for establishing the Cannonball Baker Seat-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in 1971 as a direct rebuke to the national 55 mph speed limit (anyone remember that period?). Yates, with co-driver Dan Gurney, took the initial competition in a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, driving from NYC to LA in 35 hours, 53 minutes. He later established the “One Lap of America,” which continues under the direction of son Brock, Jr.

One Lap veteran Doug Beachem has established a Brock Yates Fund with the Alzheimer’s Association to honor Brock and assist with the ongoing fight against the disease. If interested in contributing, call up:

http://act.alz.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1060&pxfid=92686

All contributions go directly to the fund and Alzheimer’s research; none goes to the Yates family.

Yates has served as both an inspiration to aspiring automotive writers and, to some, an example of how NOT to write. Now 80, he’s in permanent care; you can read what is his final column, “Turning in My Keys,” in Vintage Motorsport.