Robert Yates, a respected engine builder by trade, purchased the assets of Ranier-Lundy Racing in October 1988. His first driver was Davey Allison, who had raced under the Ranier-Lundy banner since 1987. Allison drove the No. 28 Havoline Ford to 15 victories and two third-place points finishes between 1989 and mid-1993. Tragedy struck in July 1993 when Allison was killed in a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway. Ernie Irvan was brought in from Morgan-McClure Motorsports as his permanent replacement and immediately won at Charlotte and Martinsville, but misfortune followed when Irvan suffered life-threatening injuries in a practice crash at Michigan International Speedway in 1994.
With Irvan's recovery uncertain, Yates signed Dale Jarrett away from Joe Gibbs Racing for the 1995 season to drive the No. 28. Jarrett won at Pocono Raceway and posted a solid 13th in points. When Irvan eventually returned to full-time duty in the No. 28 — winning at New Hampshire in 1996 and memorably at Michigan in 1997, the very track where he had nearly been killed — Jarrett was transitioned to the No. 88 with Ford Quality Care sponsorship.
In Jarrett's first race in the No. 88, he won the 1996 Daytona 500, defeating Dale Earnhardt for the second time in four years. He went on to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, the Brickyard 400, and at Michigan in August. Jarrett finished third in the Winston Cup points standings that year behind Hendrick Motorsports teammates Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon. The following years brought further wins, and in 1999 Jarrett captured the Winston Cup championship. Over his time with Robert Yates Racing, Jarrett accumulated 29 victories — the most wins for any driver in team history. When sponsorship transitioned from Ford Quality Care to UPS in 2001, the partnership remained intact until Jarrett and UPS departed together for Michael Waltrip Racing after 2006.
After Ricky Rudd drove the No. 28 from 2000 to 2002 and won three races — including two in 2001 and a victory at Infineon Raceway in 2002 — Robert Yates hired Elliott Sadler for 2003 and renumbered the primary car as the No. 38, replacing the longtime Havoline sponsorship with M&M's. Sadler collected two victories and posted a career-best ninth-place points finish in 2004 before departing for Evernham Motorsports in mid-2006. David Gilliland subsequently drove the No. 38 through 2008, recording a personal-best second place at Infineon Raceway.
Robert Yates formally retired from team ownership on December 1, 2007, with his son Doug Yates taking over. The organization struggled to secure consistent sponsorship for its later entries. Travis Kvapil drove the revived No. 28 in 2008 and 2009, posting a pole at Talladega despite limited backing, while Paul Menard joined in 2009 with Menards funding for the No. 98. Without a committed full-time sponsor and unable to stabilize, the team wound down its independent operations at the end of 2009 and merged into Richard Petty Motorsports.
The team also competed in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series under car numbers 90 and 98. Development driver Stephen Leicht took a win at Kentucky Speedway in 2007 as part of the series program.
Robert Yates Racing's engine department was regarded among the finest in NASCAR throughout its peak years. The team's 1999 Winston Cup championship with Dale Jarrett, combined with superspeedway victories including the 1996 Daytona 500 and Ernie Irvan's symbolic return win at Michigan in 1997, defined a competitive era for Ford in NASCAR's premier series. The organization helped develop drivers, crew chiefs, and engineers who went on to significant careers across the sport.
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