Bobby Allison, founder of horse racing’s Alabama Gang and NASCAR Hall of Famer, died Saturday. He was 86 years old.
NASCAR released a statement from Allison’s family saying he died at his home in Mooresville, North Carolina. The cause of death has not been released, but Allison had been in poor health for years.
Allison moved up to fourth on NASCAR’s Cup Series winners list last month when president Jim France recognized him as the winner of the 1971 Myers Brothers Memorial at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina. The sanctioning body updated its register to reflect this decision and handed Alison the following sanction: With 85 wins, he is now tied with Darrell Waltrip.
Mike Helton, a Frenchman and longtime NASCAR executive, presented Allison with a plaque commemorating his victory. This puts Allison behind fellow Hall of Famers Richard Petty (200), David Pearson (105) and Jeff Gordon (93) in Cup wins.
Allison was inducted into NASCAR’s second Hall of Fame class in 2011. He was the 1983 NASCAR champion, finished second in the series title race five times and won the Daytona 500 three times.
“Bobby was the ultimate fan driver,” Allison’s family said in a statement. “He thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his fans, stopping everywhere he went to sign autographs and chat with them. He was a devoted family man and friend, and a devout Catholic. .”
He helped put NASCAR on the map with more than just his driving. His infamous battle with Cale Yarborough at the end of the 1979 Daytona 500 was one of the sport’s defining moments.
“Kail went to punch my fist in the nose,” Allison said multiple times, often using the phrase to describe the fight. “Kale understands, as do I, that it was really beneficial to the interests of the race. It proves that we were honest.”
Born in Miami in 1937, Allison began looking for further racing opportunities outside of the Sunshine State. He landed in central Alabama, where he found a number of small dirt tracks.
He returned to Florida to be with his brother Donnie and best friend Red Farmer. They set up shop in Hueytown, Alabama, and dominated local racing in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were later joined in the Alabama gang by Jimmy Mears, Neil Bonnett, Bonnett, and Allison’s sons Davey and Clifford.
Allison retired in 1988 after sustaining near-fatal injuries in an accident. In June 1987, he crashed on the opening lap at Talledega Superspeedway. The vehicle collided with an exterior wall, causing a T-shaped fracture in the driver’s door. He was initially pronounced dead upon being taken to a local hospital, but was later resuscitated.
Eventually he regained his memory, relearned activities of daily living, and attempted a comeback. However, a series of tragedies led Allison to retire. His son, Clifford, was fatally injured in a 1992 crash during practice for the second-tier Busch Series at Michigan International Speedway. A year later, their son Davey died in a helicopter crash in Talladega.
Three years later, Bobby and his wife Judy divorced. The two met again four years later at their daughter-in-law’s wedding and remarried in 2000. They were together until Judy passed away in 2015.
Allison was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992, joining Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Pearson and Lee Petty in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“Bobby Allison is the personification of the word ‘racer,'” France said in a statement. “While he is best known as one of the winningest drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history, his impact on the sport goes far beyond his records.
Allison is one of 10 drivers to win NASCAR’s career “Grand Slam”, which includes the Cup Series’ most iconic races: the Daytona 500, Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500.
Allison made six starts in the IndyCar Series for Roger Penske, including two in the Indy 500.
