Bobby Allison facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bobby Allison
Allison at Martinsville Speedway in 2022
Born	Robert Arthur Allison (1937-12-03)December 3, 1937 Miami, Florida, U.S.
Died	November 9, 2024(2024-11-09) (aged 86) Mooresville, North Carolina, U.S.
Achievements	1983 Winston Cup Series Champion 1980 IROC Champion 1978, 1982, 1988 Daytona 500 Winner 1971, 1972, 1975, 1983 Southern 500 Winner 1971, 1981 1984 World 600 Winner 1979, 1981, 1986 Winston 500 Winner 1982 Busch Clash winner
Awards	1971–1973, 1980–1983 Winston Cup Series Most Popular Driver (7 times) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1992) International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1993) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2011) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
718 races run over 25 years
Best finish	1st (1983)
First race	1961 Daytona Twin 100 Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Last race	1988 Miller High Life 500 (Pocono)
First win	1966 Maine 100 (Oxford)
Last win	1988 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 85 447 59
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
43 races run over 7 years
Best finish	27th (1984)
First race	1982 Sportsman 200 (Dover)
Last race	1988 Winn-Dixie 300 (Charlotte)
First win	1984 Mello Yello 300 (Charlotte)
Last win	1988 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 22 0
NASCAR Grand National East Series career
17 races run over 2 years
Best finish	7th (1973)
First race	1972 Hickory 276 (Hickory)
Last race	1973 Buddy Shuman 100 (Hickory)
First win	1972 Hickory 276 (Hickory)
Last win	1973 Cumberland 200 (Fayetteville)
Wins Top tens Poles 6 11 7
Statistics current as of December 22, 2012.

Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks with high purses. Allison raced competitively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1961 to 1988, while regularly competing in short track events throughout his career. He also raced in IndyCar, Trans-Am, and Can-Am. Named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers and a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, he was the 1983 Winston Cup champion and won the Daytona 500 in 1978, 1982, and 1988.

His brother Donnie Allison was also a prominent driver, as were his two sons, Clifford and Davey Allison. Bobby and Donnie's televised fistfight with Cale Yarborough at the 1979 Daytona 500 has been credited with exposing NASCAR to a nationwide audience. Allison was unusual for competing successfully with his own, low-budget team for much of his career.

Early life

Allison was born December 3, 1937, in Miami, Florida. He entered his first race as a senior at Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in Miami. Since he was only 17, he had to have his parents' permission to compete. When his mother approved, Allison assumed it was permanent, but his mother believed it was for only one race. After he graduated from high school in 1955, Allison's mother thought she would derail his racing interest by sending him to Wisconsin to work for Mercury Outboard Motors, where her brother-in-law, Jimmy Hallett, was the national sales manager. Unbeknownst to her, the owner of Mercury was Carl Kiekhaefer, who also owned race cars. Allison began working as a mechanic and an engine tester. While employed at Mercury, Allison worked in the boat division for 10 months, then was transferred to the racing division. During the two months he worked in the racing division for Kiekhaefer, he went to 19 races, mostly Grand National (Known as the NASCAR Cup Series as of 2020), and a few Convertible races. Every one of those races was won by a Carl Kiekhaefer car from the shop in which he worked. Kiekhaefer was a hard person to work for and several people got fired, so Allison decided to go back to Miami only after a little over two months.

In 1956, having returned to Miami, Allison started racing again. His parents had told Allison that he could not race and live at home, so Allison came up with a fictitious name (Bob Sunderman) which was used only once as he finished well enough to make the Sunday paper. Allison's father saw the paper and told him that if he was going to race he should do it with honor and use his own name. In 1959, Allison took his brother, Donnie, Kenny Andrews, who owned a car (whose father owned Andy Racing Wheels), and Gil Hearne, who went along as Kenny's driver, to find more lucrative racing than was available in South Florida. Their search led them to Montgomery Motor Speedway in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was informed of a race that would take place that night in Midfield, Alabama, near Birmingham. Allison entered and finished 5th in that race, which paid more than finishing second in any race of a higher level in South Florida. He went to Montgomery the next night, winning the preliminary races, and finished 2nd in the feature, winning $400, having found his lucrative racing. The brothers returned home and Bobby convinced Red Farmer into coming back to Alabama with him. They had immediate success and began answering to the name The Alabama Gang. Allison became a well-known driver and a top star in short-track racing, earning back-to-back Modified Special titles in 1962–63, then two consecutive NASCAR National Modified championships in 1964–65.

NASCAR career

1968 racecar

Allison moved full-time to the Grand National circuit in 1965 and got his first victory at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 12, 1966.

During the course of his career, Bobby Allison accumulated 85 credited victories and 1 uncredited victories, making him fourth all-time. He also won the Daytona 500 in 1978, 1982 and 1988, finishing one-two with his son, Davey Allison. In 1972 he was voted national Driver of the Year after winning ten races and taking 11 poles, including a record five straight. He was NASCAR Winston Cup Champion in 1983, winning the Driver of the Year award again while driving for DiGard Racing. The 1982 Daytona 500 was fraught with controversy that became known as "Bumpergate". He also won the Firecracker 400 in 1982, making Allison the fourth driver to sweep both Sprint Cup point races at Daytona in the same year. After Allison accomplished this, no driver repeated such a feat until Jimmie Johnson did it in 2013.

Allison ran in the Indianapolis 500 twice, with a best finish of 25th in 1975. His NASCAR team owners included DiGard, Junior Johnson & Associates, and Roger Penske, for whom Allison scored four of the five NASCAR wins for American Motors' Matador. The other AMC victory was accomplished by Mark Donohue also racing for Penske in 1973 at Riverside. He raced in NASCAR as a driver/owner of an AMC Matador.

1983 championship car

Bobby Allison was elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993. Allison was involved in an accident at Talladega in May 1987, that saw his car cut down a tire, turn sideways and go airborne into the protective catch fence that separates the speedway from the grandstands. The impact, at over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h), tore out over 100 yards of fencing. Parts and pieces of the car went flying into the grandstand injuring several spectators. This was the same race where Bill Elliott had set the all-time qualifying record at 212 mph (341 km/h). NASCAR then mandated smaller carburetors for the remaining 1987 events at Talladega and Daytona. The following year, NASCAR mandated restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega to keep speeds under 200 miles per hour (320 km/h).

Allison won the first Daytona 500 run with restrictor plates in February 1988 by a car length over his son Davey Allison, rendering him the first driver to have won the Daytona 500 both with and without restrictor plates. He is the oldest driver (50 years) ever to win the Daytona 500. Bobby and Davey Allison are the first one-two father/son finish in the Daytona 500. As a result of permanent injuries in a crash at Pocono (see below), Bobby had no memory of the final win of his career or of celebrating together with his son in victory lane. He was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011.

Cale Yarborough fight

Early in the 1979 Daytona 500, Bobby, his brother Donnie and rival Cale Yarborough tangled early in the race. Donnie led the second half of the race while Yarborough made up his lost laps through caution periods. By the time there were eight laps to go, Yarborough reached second place and set his eyes on passing Donnie. Bobby was two laps down and was 1/4 mile ahead of the two rivals as Yarborough and Donnie crashed on the final lap. Richard Petty went by and won the race. Bobby passed the wreckage, finished the race, and on his way back around stopped to check on his brother and make sure he wasn't hurt. He pulled over to the wreck site to offer Donnie a ride to the garage area. Yarborough ran up to Bobby and, according to Bobby, Yarborough was yelling that Bobby was at fault and hit him in the face with his helmet—cutting his nose and his lip. Bobby climbed out and a fist-fight broke out.

This fight led to a $6,000 fine each for Yarborough and the Allison brothers. In 2000 when asked about the fist-fight Bobby said "I stopped to offer Donnie a ride to the garages and Cale comes running up saying I caused the wreck. I tried to tell him he had the wrong person. And I've said before, I think I questioned his ancestry. He hit me in the face with his helmet and I saw blood dripping onto my shirt. I thought 'If I don't stop this I'll be running from Cale for the rest of my life.' I climbed out and throttled him. He ran his nose into my fist several times. My story and I'm sticking to it forever. He never challenged me again. The fine surprised me, but the fact that it brought NASCAR onto the map makes it all worth every penny." To this day, Allison maintains that Yarborough was "beating his face on my fist".

Donnie had a similar story to Bobby: "Cale said I forced him in the mud. I did not. He wrecked himself and I was the unfortunate bystander to be in it. He and I have talked. We're fine. We both view it as lost opportunities. After he and I talked it out and agreed to disagree, Bobby came to the crash site asking me if I wanted a ride. Somehow I don't remember...but seconds later fists were thrown between Cale and Bobby. I tried to get into the fight and got scratched in the cheek by Cale. I later kicked him when Bobby mopped him into the mud. All of us were fined $6,000 but between Daytona 500 and this fight, today it's worth every penny to be involved in a fight that got NASCAR on the map."

Cale Yarborough unsurprisingly has a different account of the story: "If they look at the video they'll realize I was forced in the mud by Donnie. I was going to pass Donnie and win the race but he forced me in the mud and I had no control. So hell I hit him back. If I wouldn't finish the race neither would he. He and I had a civil talk after the wreck and we were fine until Bobby Allison climbed out of the car and began shouting at me. It went chaotic from there."

According to the three during an interview in 2012 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, NASCAR later refunded the fines as a reward to them for bringing NASCAR into national spotlights. Allison however complains to this day that because he only made $4,000 in the race, he had his wife Judy help pay the fine (by contributing $2,000) and he was only refunded with $4,000 by officials.

Pocono and tragedies

1988 racecar

On June 19, 1988, at the midpoint of the 1988 season, Allison crashed on lap 1 of the Miller High Life 500. Initially he survived a head-on hit into the outside barrier but then suddenly Jocko Maggiacomo t-boned Allison in the driver's side of the car, nearly killing Allison. When he reached a local hospital he was initially declared dead, but subsequent medical assistance saved his life. Beginning from a vegetative state, Allison entered a rehab program. After regaining most of his memory and re-learning everyday activities, Allison prepared to attempt a comeback in the early 1990s. However, a series of tragedies led Allison to abort his comeback attempt, thus retiring from driving in NASCAR.

In 1992 his younger son, Clifford Allison, was fatally injured in a practice crash for the NASCAR Busch Series race (now Xfinity Series) at Michigan International Speedway.

Later in 1993, his son Davey was killed in a helicopter accident at Talladega Superspeedway. Three years after these tragedies, he and his wife Judy divorced. Four years after their divorce, while attending their daughter-in-law's wedding, they reconnected. They were remarried in July 2000 and remained together until her death in 2015. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992, and inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May 2011, along with Lee Petty, Bud Moore, David Pearson, and Ned Jarrett.

Allison is one of ten drivers to have won what was then considered a career Grand Slam (an unofficial term) by winning the sport's four majors: the Daytona 500, the Winston 500, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500. Only nine other drivers have accomplished this feat: Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Buddy Baker, Kevin Harvick & Denny Hamlin.

Car owner

Allison drove his own cars for portions of the early 1970s, including the full 1973 season. Allison won six races as an owner-driver from 1970 to 1974. Allison also ran for his own team in 1977 after splitting with Roger Penske, with a best finish of second at Nashville.

In 1985 Allison returned to being an owner-driver after leaving DiGard Motorsports, taking his number (22) and sponsor (Miller American) with him to his new team. His best finish as an owner-driver in 1985 was a fourth-place finish at Dover. Following the 1985 season he brought his number and sponsor with him to the Stavola Brothers Racing team.

In 1990 Allison revived his team and was a car owner for numerous drivers, most notably Mike Alexander, Hut Stricklin, Jimmy Spencer, and Derrike Cope. Stricklin was Donnie Allison's son-in-law.

The car number raced was No. 12 and sponsors included Raybestos Brakes from 1990 to 1992 and, in 1993, Meineke. Stricklin moved to the Junior Johnson & Associates team halfway through 1992 and Raybestos left at the end of the year to the Stavola Brothers No. 8 team. For 1994 season, the team partnered with Ron Zook, for Cup and Busch Series. For 1995 and 1996, the team was sponsored by Mane 'n Tail with Derrike Cope at the wheel. Allison was forced to close down the team due to financial problems after the 1996 season.

Later years

Allison has actively promoted rail safety for the CSX "Keep on Living" campaign with appearances at Talladega and Daytona. On March 6, 2008, his mother, Kittie Allison, died at age 101 in Charlotte, North Carolina. On May 23, 2011, Bobby Allison was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Judy Allison, Bobby's wife of 55 years, died December 18, 2015, following complications from surgery.

On November 9, 2024, Allison's family announced his passing prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race. Allison was 86 years old.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

Winston Cup Series

Daytona 500

Busch Series

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car

Indianapolis 500

See also

In Spanish: Bobby Allison para niños

• List of NASCAR drivers