There was a time when Hueytown, Alabama, was as big a part of the NASCAR geography as Daytona Beach and Charlotte. Bobby Allison, his brother Donnie Allison and their friend Red Farmer made that happen with their ability to make stock cars go fast and then drive them that way.
Under the collective nickname of the Alabama Gang, each succeeded in the sport at a level that landed him in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. But at stock-car racing's highest level, Bobby Allison drove himself to be in the discussion of the handful of the best drivers in history.
Allison died on Saturday at age 86, NASCAR announced.
Despite his association with Alabama, Allison was not a native of the state. Instead, he was a Floridian drawn to Alabama because of its vibrant racing scene.
"What brought me to Alabama was paved racetracks at the time that I was ready to try to expand my race-driving career," Allison told AL.com in 2017. "I found myself quite comfortable on pavement, but quite uncomfortable on dirt tracks. I came to Alabama because I heard there were good paved tracks in Alabama. My brother Donnie came along with me. A couple of others from South Florida came -- a driver named Gil Hearn and a car owner named Kenny Andrews.
"We went to Montgomery speedway, and the promoter said, 'We run here tomorrow night, but they run at Dixie Speedway by Birmingham tonight.' So we said, 'Which way's that?' And he pointed, and we got in the trucks and went to Midfield and found Dixie Speedway. On Friday night at Dixie, I won a reasonable amount of money -- my winnings for the night were $135, which was the biggest purse I had ever collected at that point in my career. We spent the night there, and we went on to Montgomery for Saturday night. I met the drivers at that track and some more of the competitors from Alabama. Made friends with a lot of competitors, and the promoters and the fans were very receptive. It really was just a good deal for me. I had not won a feature event in my career yet, and it looked like I was on the verge of winning when Sonny Black was able to beat me with his more-horsepower Cadillac. But I won a lot of money, and we jumped over to Atlanta on Sunday night at the Peach Bowl.
"Alabama just became a very special place for me and Donnie both. The following spring I got married. Judy and I moved to Alabama. We loved the people and the place and the racetracks and the sport we had there. I really loved Alabama."
Allison raced all over the state on his way to the top rung of the racing ladder.
"Birmingham. Montgomery," Allison said in 2017. "Huntsville had a quarter-mile speedway. That was a great place for me. I won there several times. Mobile built a racetrack, and I ran there. Pensacola, Florida, is right on the south side of Alabama there, so I almost consider that an Alabama track, and I had some good fortune there. I ran at Columbus, Georgia, Macon, the Peach Bowl. I also ran Nashville and Chattanooga. I had a lot of good places to run to build my racing career."
Allison competed in NASCAR's Cup Series as it went from Grand National to Winston Cup from 1961 through 1988.
Allison won 85 races at NASCAR's top level, including the Daytona 500 three times, the Southern 500 four times and four events at Talladega Superspeedway, captured the Winston Cup championship in 1983 and was voted NASCAR's Most Popular Driver in eight seasons.
Allison's racing career drove him to the NASCAR Hall of Fame as part of the second class of inductees, but it wasn't a joyride.
A horrific wreck during the Miller High Life 500 at Pocono Raceway on June 19, 1988, brought an abrupt end to his career. In 1992, his son Clifford died in a wreck at Michigan International Speedway. In 1993, his son Davey died in a helicopter crash at Talladega.
Along the way, Allison played a central part in perhaps NASCAR's most famous scene, as he and brother Donnie exchanged punches with fellow driver Cale Yarbrough beside wrecked cars in the infield grass just short of the finish line as Richard Petty drove past to win the 1979 Daytona 500.
Allison's death came less than one month after he got his final victory.
Last month, NASCAR recognized Allison's victory in the Myers Brothers Memorial at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Aug. 6, 1971, putting the win into its official record book.
The controversy over Allison's victory arose because he was driving a Grand American car in the 250-lap race, not a Grand National car. Some NASCAR races at the time had the two series on the track simultaneously, and Allison drove in both series. That day at Bowman Gray, Allison was in his smaller Ford Mustang of the Grand American class as he led the final 138 laps after Richard Petty in a Plymouth had led the first 112. They were the only drivers who finished on the lead lap.
By getting credit for a Cup victory, Allison moved out of a tie with Darrell Waltrip and into sole possession of fourth place for NASCAR Cup Series wins. Petty holds the record with 200 victories, followed by David Pearson with 105 and Jeff Gordon with 93.