Taken Too Soon: Remembering Davey Allison

While it has been two and a half decades since the Allison name was emblazoned on the side of a NASCAR stock car, the name will always reign right up there with Earnhardt and Petty as some of the best drivers to ever slide behind the wheel.

Davey was the last of the Allisons to suit up and arguably had the most potential of any of the Alabama Gang, earning 19 wins in his first 191 starts in the sport, along with 14 number one qualifiers. Davey finished second to his father Bobby in the Daytona 500 in 1988, the first and only 1-2 finish by a father and son in Daytona 500 history, a race Allison counted as his favorite moment in the sport.

Davey would go on to win the Daytona 500 himself in 1992, a season that would be his best in the series. He would finish a strong third in the season points championship after entering the last race of the season with a narrow points lead over Bill Elliot and the late Alan Kulwicki. Davey needed only finish fifth place or better to clinch the championship regardless of what Elliot and Kulwicki did, and found himself running 5th late in the race when he was collected by a spinning Ernie Irvan, wiping Allison’s #28 out of the race and the points championship as well. However, the intense battle for the title won Allison even more love from the fans, who already adored his laid back personality off the track and tenacious on-track style.

Unfortunately, Allison’s career and life would be cut short just months later when he crashed his helicopter attempting to land at Talladega Superspeedway in his native Alabama. He would never regain consciousness and was declared dead the next morning. He left behind his wife Liz and two children and a legacy that still lives on in the sport today. He was inducted posthumously into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, where he won three of his 19 races.

 

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