Bobby Allison, the 1983 NASCAR Cup Series champion, had a strong passion for auto racing. It all started when his grandfather, Arthur Patton (a relative of General George Patton), took him to a race as a young boy. As a teenager, Bobby raced short tracks in Florida under an assumed name so his parents, Ed and Kitty Allison, wouldn’t find out what he was doing on his summer weekends. That’s when the dream of becoming a superstar began.
After decades of wonderful success in NASCAR’s Cup Series from 1961 to 1988, the winner of all 85 Cup Series races died last Saturday at the age of 86. The founding member of NASCAR’s legendary “Alabama Gang” had millions of fans, even after a near-fatal on-track racing accident on June 19, 1988 at Pocono Raceway nearly took his life.
A member of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011, Allison is fourth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list for his first series. On October 24, 2024, he was recognized for an 85th victory by NASCAR officials after a long-disputed race victory dating back to 1971 at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem. The event was a combined race between Grand National (now Cup Series) cars and the Grand American division featuring Mustangs, AMC Javelins, Chevrolet Camaros, etc., to give fans a chance to see both divisions race together . Victory was finally granted just weeks before his death.
Allison has accumulated 718 career starts with 336 top-five finishes, second only to fellow Hall of Famer Richard Petty.
Before winning his 1983 championship, Allison finished second in the championship standings five times – behind Bobby Isaac in 1970, Petty in 1972, Cale Yarborough in 1878 and Darrell Waltrip in 1981 and 1982.
After beginning his career in the Cup Series in 1961, the Miami, Florida native earned 446 top 10 finishes and 59 poles over a 25-year span. He was honored as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.
His list of accomplishments was long. He won the biggest NASCAR event, the prestigious Daytona 500, three times (1978, 1982 and 1988). He also won the Southern 500 at Darlington four times (1971, 1972, 1975 and 1983). He also scored victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the sport’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600, in 1971, 1981 and 1984.
Perhaps his greatest personal victory came in the 1988 Daytona 500, the day he held off his son Davey for the victory. It is the only time in the history of the race that a father and son have fought for victory in a double.
That same year, the elder Allison crashed on the Pocono track and was hit at full speed on the driver’s side of the door by another driver. Allison suffered fractures to her left leg, a bruised lung, broken ribs and a concussion. The head injury caused him a long recovery, but he did not continue as a driver. He remembers much of his career, but doesn’t remember winning the Daytona 500 against his son Davey in 1988.
“I’ve seen the video of that win thousands of times, but I just don’t remember it,” Allison said several times. “I see the guy on the screen and the car, they say I drove to victory, but I could never connect the dots on that.”
Allison also co-owned Bobby Allison Racing from 1990 to 1996 with various drivers, but never put up a consistent winning effort.
One race has stood out as one of the most memorable for generations of racing fans. At the end of the 1979 Daytona 500, younger brother Donnie Allison and Yarborough crashed in the third turn of the 2.5-mile speedway while racing for victory. Bobby stopped to offer Donnie a ride back to the garage when tempers flared. A fight between the three drivers garnered national television attention, highlighted by a massive snowstorm that paralyzed the entire Eastern Seaboard. With no way to leave their homes and only three major networks to choose from at the time (one movie, one basketball or NASCAR), the fight attracted millions of people who had never seen a NASCAR race previously.
In true Cinderella fashion, Richard Petty won his sixth career Daytona 500 that day, but people still talk about the fight that followed 45 years later.
“He (Yarborough) lunged at me and hit me in the face with his helmet,” Allison said of Yarborough over the years. “I cut my nose, my lip, the blood is running down my knees and I thought, ‘I have to get out of the car and deal with this problem now or run from it for the rest of my life.’ So I got out of the car and the guy started hitting my fists with his nose.
Allison had a reputation for being able to drive any type of race car. While with racing icon and team owner Roger Penske, Allison made two starts at the Indianapolis 500 in 1973 and 1975. He also raced at Ontario Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway on the 2.5-mile Pocono Track in Penske’s open-wheel cars.
Allison was no stranger to tragedy after the 1988 accident.
Four years later, during a practice session in hopes of starting his 23rd career (Xfinity Series) at Michigan, his youngest son Clifford Allison died from injuries suffered in a crash during the training. He was 27 years old at the time of his death on August 13, 1992.
Then rising star Davey Allison and winner of 19 Cup races, including the 1992 Daytona 500, crashed his helicopter while attempting to land at Talladega Superspeedway a day earlier. Davey was 32 years old at the time of his death from injuries on July 13, 1993.
The Allison family also lost Bobby’s wife, Judy Allison, on December 18, 2015, to surgical complications.
Throughout his life, he was known as one of the most beloved NASCAR drivers among competitors and fans.
“Bobby Allison personified the term ‘runner’. Although he is best known as one of the winningest drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history, his impact on the sport extends far beyond the record books,” said Jim France, Chairman -NASCAR general manager, in a press release. “As a driver, he won races and championships in several NASCAR divisions. But as the leader of the famous “Alabama Gang,” Bobby established a deep connection with fans. Most significantly, he gave his all to our sport. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I offer my deepest condolences to Bobby’s family, friends and fans on the loss of a NASCAR giant.
Allison’s family said in a statement. “Bobby was the ultimate fan driver. He truly enjoyed spending time with his fans and would stop to sign autographs and chat with them wherever he went. He was a devoted family man and friend, and a devout Catholic.
Allison was often an inspiration to others with encouraging words to lift their spirits. Even after life dealt him some of his worst personal pain with the loss of his two sons, he continued to find the positive in every situation that came his way. He was a light of hope to so many who loved him around the world.
“I have endured incredible suffering throughout my life, both physically and emotionally,” Allison once said. “But there are so many others who have been through worse situations than me. If I can offer an encouraging word or thought to make someone’s day a little brighter, then I think that’s what I should strive to do.
Simply put, that was the definition of Robert Arthur “Bobby” Allison.
This article was originally published on The Fayetteville Observer: NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison’s Greatest Moments
