Cy Yedor

CY YEDOR
August 23, 1927 – April 30, 2013
AGE 85, Cyril (Cy) B.Yedor passed away Tuesday April 30, 2013 with his entire family gathered around him. He was married to Judith Schwam Yedor his wife of twelve (12) years. He is survived by his son Michael Yedor (Kari) and daughter Julie Yedor Harris along with his five (5) grandchildren Brandon (Nadia), Kathryn, Charles, Courtney, Nicholas and his great-granddaughters Paige and Anabel. Stepdaughter Stephanie (Tim), nephews, Dave, Jim, Buck and Bill. He was a soft and gentle man who loved spending time with his family. He had a wonderful sense of humor that was always witty and dry. He was full of stories that covered his eighty five (85) years of life. He loved to sail, hunt, fish and spend time on his sons' boat.
Cy was one of the pioneers of the California Sports Car Club. Starting in 1953, he served as an official and member of the board of directors. At various times, he was a race starter as well as the Competition License Director. He is one of a small group without whom the club would not have been one of the most successful road racing organizations in the U.S. during the fabulous fifties.
Cyril (Cy) Bernard Yedor was born on August 23, 1927. The family moved to Southern California where Cy graduated from Fairfax High School. Then along came WWII and Cy served in the U.S. Navy.
He was not only a club official, but also an outstanding competitor. His first race was at Palm Springs in 1952 where he crashed an XK120 Jaguar. But his learning curve was steep. From then on and through the early sixties (60s) he was in more than 50 races. He rarely placed lower than third, winning six main events overall.
Cy is perhaps best known in racing circles as the second owner of Ken Miles first MG Special the (R-1). When Ken built his second special, the Shingle (R-2), the usual scenario for the Under-1500 Main Event was Ken first and Cy second. But at Torrey Pines in 1954 and Santa Barbara in 1955, Cy was first overall.
One event Cy remembered well is the so-called "James Dean Race." Dean entered his Porsche Speedster at the March 26-27 Palm Springs races, his first outing. He won a preliminary race for small-bore production cars, which qualified him to run in the Under-1500 Main Event. He ended up third overall behind Miles and Yedor. In 1955, he received the Sam Collier Sportsmanship Award and, at Torrey Pines in 1956, the Pedigo Sportsmanship Award.
Cy and Judi lived in Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Del Rey Yacht Club; He raced sailboats during the sixties. In 1967 he crewed on the famous TransPac race. In 1979, he was a crewmember on Salt Walther's Indy 500 team. Retired, Cy and Judi sponsor and award the Ken Miles Trophy for the best-prepared and driven Under-1500 cc Main Event at the Monterey Historic Races. He was a founding member of the CHP 1199 Foundation and the Peterson Automotive Museum.
There will be no funeral. The family will have a private celebration on Sunday afternoon to reflect on his amazing life.