Bobby Allison, NASCAR Hall of Famer and 3-time Daytona 500 winner, dies at 86

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By Jenna Fryer, AP Auto Racing Writer/Audio story by WBHM’s Andrew Yeager

Bobby Allison, founder of racing’s “Alabama Gang” and a NASCAR Hall of Famer, died Saturday. He was 86.

NASCAR released a statement from Allison’s family that said he died at home in Mooresville, North Carolina. A cause of death wasn’t given, but Allison had been in declining health for years.

Allison moved to fourth on NASCAR’s Cup Series victory list last month when chairman Jim France recognized him as the winner of the Meyers Brothers Memorial at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina in 1971. The sanctioning body updated its record books to reflect the decision, giving Allison 85 wins and moving him out of a tie with Darrell Waltrip.

France and longtime NASCAR executive Mike Helton presented Allison with a plaque commemorating the victory. With it, Allison trails only 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 a three-time winner of the Daytona 500.

“Bobby was the ultimate fan’s driver,” Allison’s family said in a statement. “He thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his fans and would stop to sign autographs and have conversations with them everywhere he went. He was a dedicated family man and friend, and a devout Catholic.”

He helped put NASCAR on the map with more than his driving. His infamous fight with Cale Yarborough in the closing laps of the 1979 Daytona 500 served as one of the sport’s defining moments.

“Cale went to beating on my fist with his nose,” Allison has said repeatedly, often using that phrase to describe the fight. “Cale understands like I do that it really was a benefit to the interest of racing. It proves that we were sincere.”

Born in Miami in 1937, Allison started searching for more racing opportunities outside the Sunshine State. He landed in central Alabama, where he found a number of small, dirt tracks.

He returned to Florida to get brother Donnie and close friend Red Farmer. They set up shop in Hueytown, Alabama, and dominated regional races throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. They were later joined in the Alabama Gang by Jimmy Mears, Neil Bonnett and Bonnett and Allison’s sons Davey and Clifford.

Allison retired in 1988 following a crash at Pocono that nearly killed him. He was initially declared dead upon reaching a local hospital but was later resuscitated.

He eventually regained his memory, re-learned everyday activities and attempted a comeback. But a series of tragedies led Allison to retire. His son, Clifford, was fatally injured during a crash in practice for the second-tier Busch Series at Michigan International Speedway in 1992. A year later, son Davey was killed in a helicopter crash at Talladega.

Three years after that, Bobby and wife Judy divorced. They reconnected four years later at their daughter-in-law’s wedding and were remarried in 2000. They remained together until Judy’s death in 2015.

Allison was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Pearson and Lee Petty.

“Bobby Allison personified the term ‘racer,’” France said in statement. “Though 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.

Allison is one of 10 drivers to have won NASCAR’s career “grand slam” that includes the Cup Series’ most iconic races: the Daytona 500, the Winston 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500.

Allison made six IndyCar Series starts for Roger Penske, including a pair of Indy 500s.

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AP Sports Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.