Bobby Allison

Bobby Allison (born December 3, 1937) was one of the first NASCAR drivers and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. Born in Miami, Florida, he entered his first race as a senior in high school, but was ordered to quit by his father after a few accidents.

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After high school in 1959, Allison took his brother Donnie and friends along on a quest for more lucrative racing than was available in south Florida. His searching led him to the Montgomery Speedway in Montgomery, Alabama, and he was told of a race that very night in Midfield, Alabama near Birmingham. Allison entered and won that race, along with two others races that week. He had found his lucrative racing. Bobby and Donnie set up shop in Hueytown, Alabama with another friend (Red Farmer), and they began answering to the name Alabama Gang.

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Bobby Allison also worked as a mechanic and an engine tester, but eventually came into his own as a driver and won the 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.

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During the course of his career, Bobby Allison accumulated 84 victories, which ties him for third all-time with Darrell Waltrip, including three victories at the Daytona 500 in 1978, 1982 and 1988, where he finished one-two with his son, Davey Allison. He was also the NASCAR Winston Cup Champion in 1983.

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On June 19, 1988, Bobby Allison nearly died in a crash at Pocono Raceway, but was left with injuries that forced his retirement from NASCAR. He was elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, tragically, the same year as his son Davey died in a helicopter accident at Talladega Superspeedway.

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1937: 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar)....

NASCAR: The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the NEXTEL Cup, the Busch Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. It also oversees seven regional series and one l...

Miami, Florida: Miami is a major city located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Florida. Miami and the surrounding metropolitan area sits between the Miami River, Biscayne Bay, the Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean. It is the second largest city in Florida and the county seat (and largest city) of Miami-...

Bobby Allison related Images and Photos (experimental)

Bobby	Bobby Orr	Bobby Ryan	Allison Janney
Bobby Abreu	Bobby Darin	Bobby Jenks	Bobby Darin
Bobby Abreu	Bobby Holik	Bobby Abreu	Allison Moorer: Mockingbird