Bobby Allison

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Bobby Allison in 1965

Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937 in Miami, Florida; died November 9, 2024 in Mooresville, North Carolina) was one of the most successful race car drivers in NASCAR championship history.

Allison was the 3rd of six children born to Edmund and Katherine Allison, though two of his siblings died in infancy. He grew up in Florida and entered his first auto race as a senior in high school, but was ordered to quit by his father after a few accidents. After graduating in 1959, he took his brother Donnie and some friends along on a quest for more lucrative racing on paved tracks, which were scarce in south Florida. His searching led him to the Montgomery Speedway in Montgomery, Alabama, and he was told of a race that evening at the Dixie Speedway in Midfield. Allison got directions to the track, entered, and won that race, claiming a $135 purse. He went on to win two more races that week and became a regular on the Alabama circuit. Bobby and Donnie set up shop in Hueytown with another friend (Charles "Red" Farmer), and they began answering to the name Alabama Gang.

Allison married Judith Alma Bjorkman in 1960 and had four children: Davey, Clifford, Carrie and Bonnie.

Bobby Allison also worked as a mechanic and an engine tester, but enjoyed the most success as a driver, winning his first national championship in the modified special division in 1962. He moved to the Grand National circuit in 1965 and got his first victory at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 12, 1966, behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Chevelle for owner J. D. Bracken. He later drove a Dodge for Mario Rossi, and then took the wheel of a Ford for owner Bud Moore. He won his first Daytona 500 in 1978. He claimed his sole Winston Cup Championship in 1983 behind the wheel of Bill Gardner's #22 Buick Regal.

During the 1979 Daytona 500, Allison and his brother, Donnie, joined in a raucous infield fist-fight with Cale Yarborough after a collision on the final lap of the race. The incident generated worldwide headlines and is credited with expanding the sport's reach beyond the southeastern US. Allison prevailed at Daytona twice more, in 1982 and 1988. That year his son Davey finished 2nd, right behind him.

Allison ran in the Indianapolis 500 twice, with a best finish of 25th in 1975.

Allison was forced to retire from racing due to nearly-fatal injuries suffered in a collision during the Miller High Life 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania on June 19, 1988. He suffered memory loss from a concussion, along with broken ribs and multiple fractures in his left leg. The cost of his medical treatments depleted most of his savings and he eventually sold off the bulk of his memorabilia to make ends meet. He was a car owner for numerous drivers from 1990 to 1996, most notably Hut Stricklin, Derrike Cope, Neil Bonnett , and Jimmy Spencer.

In 1992, his son Clifford died in a wreck at Michigan International Speedway, and in 1993, his son Davey died in a helicopter crash at Talladega. The grief led he and Judy to divorce in 1996, but they remarried in 2005 and stayed together until her death in 2015.

After an October 2024 ruling on a controversial 1971 finish, Allison was given credit for 85 total NASCAR Cup Series victories, placing him in 4th place all-time, behind Richard Petty, David Pearson and Jeff Gordon. He is one of only eight drivers to have won a "Career Grand Slam", by winning the sport's four majors. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1992, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega in 1993, and as a member of the 2nd class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2011.

Publications

Cover of Bobby Allison: A Racer's Racer
  • Allison, Bobby & Tim Packman (1983) Bobby Allison: A Racer's Racer. Sports Publishing LLC ISBN 9781582617237

References

External links

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