NASCAR Legend Bobby Allison Dead at 86

Bobby Allison, a professional stock car racing driver and member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, died on Saturday (Nov. 9), according to a statement on NASCAR’s website. He was 86 years old.

“Bobby was the ultimate fan’s driver,” his family said in a statement, according to CBS. “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,” the statement continues.”

Born in Miami, Fla. in 1937, Allison began his relationship with NASCAR when he was hired as a mechanic in Charlotte, N.C. According to the New York Times, he steadily pursued his ambitions as a driver, and won his first premier series race in Oxford, Me. in 1966.

Allison was a founding member of the “Alabama Gang,” a notable group of drivers based out of Hueytown, Ala. He achieved a long list of titles and accolades over the course of his driving career, including winning the Daytona 500 in 1978, 1982 and 1988. He was also named the 1983 Winston Cup Champion and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011.

NASCAR reports that Allison currently occupies the No. 4 spot on NASCAR’s all-time win list for its premiere series, and won 85 races over the course of his lifetime.

The last of those is actually a recent victory: In October 2023, Allison was retroactively named the winner in a disputed tie race that took place at Bowman Gray Stadium in 1971.

Allison’s younger brother, Donnie Allison, is also a former NASCAR driver. During the 1979 Daytona 500, both the Allison brothers made headlines when they became embroiled in a racetrack fistfight with fellow driver Cale Yarborough. The fight was televised, and brought NASCAR events a new level of viewership and national prominence.

Allison retired from racing in 1988 following a near-fatal crash at Pocono Raceway. According to NASCAR’s eulogy, the incident left him with broken bones, ribs and a concussion, as well as lasting memory gaps.

Amid his significant success, Allison’s life was touched by more than its fair share of tragedy. His youngest son Clifford Allison, a stock car racing driver and “Alabama Gang” member, died in a practice accident in 1992, at just 27 years old.

The following year, his older son Davey Allison — also a NASCAR driver — died in a helicopter accident at age 32.

Allison and his wife Judy divorced three years after Davey’s death, but they reconciled and remarried in 2000, and remained together until her death in 2015.

In 2023, Allison was honored as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. He has maintained an active presence in the NASCAR and driving worlds, including promoting rail safety as part of the CSX transportation company’s “Keep on Living” campaign.

No cause of death or funeral information was immediately available.