Allison is a true champion

Published 10:16 pm Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Bobby Allison started out on the short tracks in Midfield and Montgomery. He rose to become one of the greatest names in NASCAR racing.

And on Wednesday, this adopted son of Alabama, a member of the Alabama Gang, received the honor of induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Historians and statisticians will mark Allison’s 84 wins in Cup races over 30 years. That places him third on the all-time wins list with Darrell Waltrip. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.

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Allison is a Miami native, but he made his mark on racing when he won his first in Alabama at Montgomery about two weeks after arriving in the state. Then he hooked up with Donnie and Red Farmer, the other two members of the Alabama Gang and, as most folks say, history was made.

Most racing fans will remember the wins during Allison’s career. Others will remember the losses — very personal losses.

In June 1988, Allison nearly died in a crash at Pocono Raceway, but was left with injuries that forced his retirement from driving in NASCAR. The next year, Allison’s youngest son, Clifford, died because of injuries in a practice crash for the Nationwide Series, which at that time was the NASCAR Busch Series at the Michigan International Speedway. And, in 1993, the same year he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, Allison lost another son, Davey, who died after a helicopter accident at the Talladega Superspeedway.

Although the road has been bumpy, Bobby Allison has endured with no bitterness. Racing has indeed inducted a champion in every way into its hall of fame.