Bobby Allison, legendary NASCAR driver, dies at 86

by Junna Base November 10, 2024

Jeff luck
| USA TODAY

Bobby Allison, whose life in NASCAR included both great triumphs and unspeakable heartache, died Saturday, NASCAR announced. He was 86.

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

He was a member of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, making him one of the top ten 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 both competed in racing. The same was true for his brother Donnie.

However, the majority of the victory came from Bobby. He won three Daytona 500s, the 1983 Cup championship and 85 NASCAR Cup Series races, including a 1971 race at Bowman-Gray Stadium, which he was awarded in October. He ranks fourth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.

Although he was already an established winner well into the late 1970s, Allison – and NASCAR – entered the national stage together at the 1979 Daytona 500.

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

Or, as Bobby’s version faithfully put it for decades: “Cale started hitting me in the fist with his nose.”

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

In 1987, Allison was involved in one of the worst accidents in NASCAR history. During a race at Talladega, Allison’s tire blew out and his car flew through the air. It hit the fence with tremendous force, tore off a section and almost flew into the stands.

Allison did not miss a race despite the accident, but the accident prompted NASCAR to install ply plates on the cars at both Talladega and Daytona.

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

But four months later, Allison blew a tire at the start of a race at Pocono and was T-boned by another driver. The accident nearly killed him and caused him severe head trauma and broken bones. In addition, he was deprived of his memories of everything that had happened in the previous months – including the father-son triumph at Daytona.

“This one race that I know means the most 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 there.”

Allison never competed in races again and was never able to fully recover from his injuries. He walked with a slight limp for the rest of his life.

But the pain he suffered in the years following his retirement was far worse than anything physical.

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 was killed while attempting to land his helicopter in Talladega.

Suddenly both of Allison’s sons were missing.

“I don’t know that it will ever go away, that it will be easier and less painful every day,” Bobby said in 2011. “It’s what happened. It is our duty to carry on.”

The grief was overwhelming and ultimately led to Allison and his wife, Judy, divorcing. 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 at tracks or speaking to fans.

This story has been updated with new information.

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