close
close

Ourladyoftheassumptionparish

Part – Newstatenabenn

    • Legendary NASCAR driver Bobby Allison dies at 86
    patheur

    Legendary NASCAR driver Bobby Allison dies at 86

    Sakege Posted on

    Jeff Gluck
    | USA TODAY

    Bobby Allison, whose life in NASCAR included great triumphs and unspeakable heartbreak, died Saturday, NASCAR announced. He was 86 years old.

    Through NASCAR, Allison became a champion driver and Hall of Famer. But the sport also robbed him of his two children, who died in tragic accidents less than a year apart.

    He was a member of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, placing him among the top 10 legends in the history of the sport.

    As the leader of the so-called “Alabama Gang,” a group of drivers from Hueytown, Alabama, Allison was part of a talented racing family. His sons, Davey and Clifford, ran. So did his brother, Donnie.

    Bobby, however, was the one who won the most. He won three Daytona 500s, the 1983 Cup championship and 85 NASCAR Cup races, including a 1971 race at Bowman-Gray Stadium that was awarded to him in October. He ranks fourth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.

    Although already an established winner well into the 1970s, Allison – and NASCAR – burst onto the national scene together in the 1979 Daytona 500.

    On the final lap of the race, Cale Yarborough and Allison’s brother Donnie crashed while racing for the lead. Richard Petty won the race and Yarborough began arguing with Donnie Allison. Bobby stopped his car on the grass of the field near the accident scene and quickly attacked Yarborough.

    Or, as Bobby’s version faithfully continued for decades afterward, “Cale started punching my fist with his nose.”

    He continued to win after that infamous fight, including the Cup championship. After five second-place finishes in the points standings over 18 years, Allison finally won his only title in 1983.

    In 1987, Allison was involved in one of the worst accidents in NASCAR history. While racing at Talladega, Allison’s tire blew out and sent her car airborne. It hit the fence with tremendous force, tearing off a section and almost entering the stands.

    Allison did not miss a race despite the accident, but this led NASCAR to place restrictor plates on the cars at both Talladega and Daytona.

    The following season’s Daytona 500 was Allison’s finest moment in NASCAR; but one he never remembered. With her son Davey in second place, Allison won the 500 for the third time; the two celebrated together in Victory Lane.

    But four months later, Allison got a flat tire early in a race at Pocono and was hit by another driver. The accident nearly killed him and left him with severe head trauma as well as broken bones. Additionally, his memories of everything that had happened in the previous months were stolen, including the father and son’s victory at Daytona.

    “That race, the one I know has the most meaning to me, is the one I can’t remember,” Allison told author Robert Edelstein for the book. NASCAR Legends. “It’s still covered in dust back there.”

    Allison never ran again nor was she able to fully recover from her injuries; He walked with a slight limp for the rest of his life.

    But the pain he suffered in the years after his retirement was far worse than any physical pain.

    In 1992, Allison’s youngest son, Clifford, was killed in an accident while practicing for a Busch Series race in Michigan. Less than a year later, Davey Allison died while trying to land his helicopter in Talladega.

    Just like that, both of Allison’s children were gone.

    “I don’t know if it will ever get better, if it will ever get easier, less painful,” Bobby said in 2011. “It’s what happened. It is our duty to move forward.”

    The pain was overwhelming and ultimately led Allison and his wife, Judy, to divorce. But when Adam Petty, grandson of Richard Petty and son of Kyle Petty, died in an accident in 2000, Bobby and Judy decided to comfort the Petty family together. They reconciled and remarried two months later.

    In his later years, Allison was revered as an ambassador for NASCAR. His status as a Hall of Famer brought him great joy, and he was almost always seen with a big smile when appearing on the slopes or speaking to fans.

    This story has been updated with new information.

    Sakege
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like