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Bobby Allison, a founding member of NASCAR’s iconic “Alabama Gang” and the 1983 premier-series champion with 85 career wins, passed away on Saturday at the age of 86.
Allison’s racing career, spanning nearly 30 years, brought him fame, fortune, and nearly every accolade the sport had to offer. However, it also held deep personal tragedy, as Allison lost two sons to accidents, and his own career ended in 1988 after a nearly fatal crash.
In 2011, Allison was inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame as part of its second class. He ranks fourth on the all-time win list in NASCAR’s premier series and was officially credited with his 85th win on October 23, 2024, when officials awarded him a disputed 1971 victory at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Allison made 718 career starts, ranking 14th in series history, with 336 top-five finishes—second only to Richard Petty. His 446 top-10 finishes and 59 poles spanned a career from 1961 until 1988, and he was honored as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.
During his career, the affable Allison won some of NASCAR’s most prestigious races multiple times. He claimed the Daytona 500 three times (1978, ’82, and ’88), the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway four times (’71, ’72, ’75, and ’83), and won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in ’71, ’81, and ’84. His 1988 Daytona 500 victory was particularly special, as he held off a strong challenge from his son, Davey, to win.
After the race, Allison expressed his joy to reporters: “Coming down to the finish, it was great to be in first and look in my mirror to see the best driver coming up — and knowing he’s my son. It really is a special feeling.”
Nearly a decade earlier, Allison and his brother Donnie made headlines at Daytona in a different way — with a post-race fight involving fellow racer Cale Yarborough, which was broadcast nationally. “And there’s a fight!” announcer Ken Squier exclaimed to the TV audience as the skirmish unfolded. Although Richard Petty won the race, the scuffle became a memorable part of NASCAR history.
Reflecting on the incident later, Allison said on FOX Sports’ “Race Hub” program, “I think I questioned Yarborough’s ancestry. He lunged at me and hit me with his helmet, so I thought, ‘I’ve got to handle this or run from him forever.’”
Besides his 1983 championship, Allison was the series runner-up five times and was named NASCAR’s most popular driver six times. He also won two NASCAR Xfinity Series races and the International Race of Champions (IROC) title in 1980. Allison briefly raced open-wheel cars, competing in the Indianapolis 500 twice for Roger Penske,
In 1966, Allison competed in 33 out of the 49 scheduled races, driving for various team owners. He achieved his first victory on July 12 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine, piloting the No. 2 Chevrolet for owner Donald Brackins. Starting from the pole, he led 238 of the 300 laps on the 0.333-mile paved track.
Allison secured two more wins that season, at Islip in New York and Beltsville in Maryland, finishing the season with three victories and placing 10th in the points standings. This season marked the start of a decade-long streak, where he won multiple races each year on the premier circuit, including consecutive 10-win seasons in 1971 and 1972.
At age 45, Allison finally claimed the NASCAR championship in 1983, ending his long streak as runner-up. After finishing second to Waltrip in the previous two seasons, he drove the DiGard Racing No. 22 to six victories, including three consecutive wins in the final months, edging out Waltrip by 47 points. A ninth-place finish in the season finale at Riverside International Raceway secured the title. He won five more times after his championship, including the emotional 1988 Daytona 500, where he and his son Davey finished first and second. He would finish in the top 10 in points three more times in his career.
In 1988, Allison was sixth in points heading into the Miller High Life 500 at Pocono Raceway. On the first lap, his No. 12 Buick blew a tire, sending the car into the outside wall. As his car slid back across the track, it was struck on the driver’s side, causing Allison to suffer broken bones in his left leg, broken ribs, and a concussion.
The head injury left him with memory lapses, including memories of his Daytona 500 win earlier that year, and he never returned to racing as a driver. From 1990 to 1996, he owned a team in the premier series, although it did not see significant success.
In August 1992, his younger son, Clifford Allison, tragically died in a practice crash at Michigan International Speedway at the age of 27. Less than a year later, in July 1993, his son Davey, who had won 19 races and was a rising star in NASCAR, died at 32 after a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway.
Four members of the “Alabama Gang” have since been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, beginning with Bobby Allison’s 2011 induction. Davey Allison was inducted in 2019, followed by Red Farmer in 2021 and Donnie Allison in 2024. Another member of the group, Neil Bonnett, was recently nominated for the Hall of Fame.
In the fall of 2024, NASCAR officials resolved a long-standing debate by officially crediting Allison as the winner of a 1971 race at Bowman Gray Stadium. The race, a combined event for Grand National (now Cup Series) cars and Grand American division pony-car models, was originally held to boost the field sizes for both series.