Former NASCAR champion, three-time Daytona 500 winner, and Hall of Fame driver Bobby Allison died Saturday afternoon in his adopted hometown of Mooresville, N.C. He was 86 and had been in declining health since his horrific career-ending crash at Pocono Raceway in June of 1988.
Upon hearing the news, NASCAR CEO Jim France said Mr. Allison personified the term “racer.”
Arrangements have not been announced. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please consider donating to Bobby’s home church (St. Therese Catholic Church in Mooresville, N.C.), your local Catholic church or diocese, International Motorsports Hall of Fame Preservation Society or Victory Junction Gang Camp.
“Though he is best-known as one of the winningest drivers in Cup Series history, his impact on the sport extends far beyond the record books,” France said. “As a driver, he won races and championships across several NASCAR divisions. But as the leader of the famous “Alabama Gang,” Bobby connected with fans in a profound manner. In the most significant ways, 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.”
By every measure, Robert Arthur Allison of Hialeah, Fla. and Hueytown, Ala. was a legendary figure in stock car racing. Adored by millions of fans and grudgingly respected by his peers, he won 59 poles and 85 NASCAR Cup Series races in 718 starts, dating to 1961.
That victory total stood at was 84 until NASCAR executives Jim France and Mike Helton recently visited his home. There, they officially credited him with a 1971 victory at Bowman Gray Stadium that had never been part of his career record.
He began racing Modifieds in his late teens and worked relentlessly to reach the Cup Series within 10 years. Fellow Hall of Fame driver Donnie Allison once said of his older brother: “Under equal conditions, he’s the hardest guy I ever raced against (because) he doesn’t give up. You don’t beat him mentally.” He added during another interview: “I honestly believe Bobby felt nobody could beat him legally. I never heard him say, ‘I got beat.' He always thought he was outcheated, or whatever.”
Racing was Bobby Allison’s all-consuming passion, and he won every significant NASCAR race at least once. He was named Most Popular Driver seven times, has been inducted into every meaningful racing hall of fame, and was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. As versatile as he was talented, he won on short dirt tracks, short paved tracks, intermediates, superspeedways, restrictor-plate, and road courses. He was the 1983 champion and enjoyed 17 other top-10 seasons, including being points runner-up five times.
He drove for many of the sport’s most successful owners: Smokey Yunick, Bud Moore, Cotton Owens, Nord Krauskopf, Holman-Moody, Bondy Long, Mario Rossi, Richard Howard, Roger Penske, Harry Ranier, DiGard, and the Stavola Brothers.
But true to his independent streak, he often drove for himself when his working relationships soured – as they often did – with his owners. Said Donnie of some of those brief pairings: “I think Bobby was his own worst enemy.”
The near-fatal crash that ended his career came at the start of the 1988 Miller High Life 500… ironically, the product sponsoring his Stavola Brothers Racing No. 12 Buick that Sunday afternoon. He’d radioed his crew about a soft tire and planned to pit on that first lap. Instead, he lost control on the Pocono backstretch, spun into the outside wall, and was hit in the driver’s door as he slid back down the banking.
Workers needed a half-hour to remove him from the wreckage.
Unconscious and barely alive, he was flown to the nearby Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown, Pa. There, in critical condition, he was treated for leg and rib injuries, a bruised heart, a concussion, and major closed-head trauma. Early-on, a priest was called when medical attendants thought he was near death.
After 42 days at LVMC, he was flown to the Lakeshore Rehabilitation Complex in Birmingham, Ala. All told, he spent 108 days in the Allentown and Birmingham facilities, then endured months of physical therapy and rehabilitation. He worked hard, believing he might someday race again. That never happened, but in 1993 he had recovered well enough to gain clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration to once again pilot his own plane.
But Allison’s post-Pocono years were more difficult than anyone should have to endure – even a man of his enormous will, perseverance, resilience, and strong Catholic faith.
His youngest son, 27-year-old Clifford, died in an Xfinity Series crash during practice at Michigan International Speedway in 1992. Allison’s older son, 32-year-old Davey, died shortly after a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway in 1993. (His wife, Liz, donated many of his healthy organs to needy patients).
Fellow driver and good friend Neil Bonnett died in a practice session at Daytona International Speedway in 1994. And Allison’s wife of 50-plus years, Judy, died from complications from surgery in a North Carolina hospital in 2015.
Mr. Allison is survived by daughters, Bonnie and Carrie. Service arrangements have not been announced. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donation to Bobby’s home church (St. Therese Catholic in Mooresville, N.C.), your local Catholic church or diocese, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, Ala, the Preservation Society, or the Victory Junction Gang Camp.