KEEPING THE SPIRIT ALIVE SINCE 1999
Bobby Allison
3/12/1937
100
One of the first NASCAR drivers and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. Born in Miami, Florida, he entered his first race as a senior in high school, but was ordered to quit by his father after a few accidents.
After high school in 1959, Allison took his brother Donnie and friends along on a quest for more lucrative racing than was available in south Florida. His searching led him to the Montgomery Speedway in Montgomery, Alabama, and he was told of a race that very night in Midfield, Alabama near Birmingham. Allison entered and won that race, along with two others races that week. He had found his lucrative racing. Bobby and Donnie set up shop in Hueytown, Alabama with another friend (Red Farmer), and they began answering to the name Alabama Gang.
Bobby Allison also worked as a mechanic and an engine tester, but eventually came into his own as a driver and won the national championship in the modified special division in 1962. He moved to the Grand National circuit in 1965 and got his first victory at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 12, 1966.
During the course of his career, Bobby Allison accumulated 84 victories, which ties him for third all-time with Darrell Waltrip, including three victories at the Daytona 500 in 1978, 1982 and 1988, where he finished one-two with his son, Davey Allison. He was also the NASCAR Winston Cup Champion in 1983.
On June 19, 1988, Bobby Allison nearly died in a crash at Pocono Raceway, but was left with injuries that forced his retirement from NASCAR. He was elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, tragically, the same year as his son Davey died in a helicopter accident at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Spencer Wishart 1889 - 1914 -
Bertrand Faucigny-Lucinge 1898 - 1943 -
Roberto Mieres 1924 -
Gaetano Starrabba 1932 -
Rick Mears 1951
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Lloyd Ruby 1928 - 2009
Often reffered to as the best driver never to have won the Indy 500, he led the 500 in five occasions. A works driver for Ford in sportscars he had better luck winning the Daytona 24 Hour race twice. He took partin two Grand Prix, once at the Indy 500 when it counted as a round of the World Championship and in the 1961 US Grand Prix. -
Derek Bell 1941
A former Formula One driver from England who raced for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno. Bell is best know for his sportscar racing, winning Le Mans five times and the Daytona 24 hour race, three times. -
Tom Jones 1943 - 2015
Once considered one of Formula One's more obscure drivers, Tom Jones entered his own Cooper T82 in one Formula One race, the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix. He raced on and off throughout the 1970s in various series before retiring in 1980. -
Peter Revson 1939 - 1974
Revson was heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune. He was one of the best American sports car drivers of the 1960s. He raced in F1 for McLaren winning the British and Canadian Grands Prix in 1973. He was killed in testing for the 1974 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. -
Bob Said 1932 - 2002
Bob Said started racing in 1952 in the USA but turned his attention to Europe where he raced with Maston Gregory. He raced in the American Grand Prix in 1959 at Sebring, driving Paul Emery's ancient Connaught. He lost everything in 1962 but rebuilt his fortune and took up winter sports, participating in the Winter Olympics in 1968 and 1972 in the bobsleigh event. He then became an Emmy award winning producer. He died of a heart attack while watching the OSCARs on TV.