Allison: Election to Hall of Fame a thrill, honor

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Bobby Allison says his Hall of Fame career as part of the "Alabama Gang" had its highs and lows, and getting voted into NASCAR's hall brings mixed emotions.

"It's a great thrill, a great relief, a great honor," he told The Birmingham News after the announcement Wednesday. "It's everything all wrapped into one."

Allison, 72, who grew up in Miami, began racing in Alabama in the 1950s and won 84 races over nearly three decades of NASCAR competition.

But he lost sons Clifford and Davey Allison in accidents and fellow "Alabama Gang" member Neil Bonnett in a Dayton crash. His own career ended with a crash in 1988 at Pocono Raceway in Pennyslvania.

"We've really had the highs and lows," he said. "To have won the Daytona 500 and to do it three times and the third one be at age 50 and have Davey do so well and brother Donnie do so well."

"But then, to have the heartache and the agony along the way, the feats but also the tragedies, it's really been a mixed thing," he said. "But it's still so special because it's a really important part of our lives and part of America."

Clifford Allison died in a practice accident at a Michigan track in 1992, and Davey Allison died in 1993 when his helicopter crashed on the infield at Talladega Superspeedway. With Bonnett's death in 1994, Allison's personal life came apart. He and his wife, Judy, divorced for several years before remarrying in 2000.

Allison was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame while two of his long-time competitors — Darrell Waltrip, who also has 84 victories, and Cale Yarborough, who has 83 — were not.

Humpy Wheeler, a vetern track promoter, said there's a likely reason Allison won.

"His story probably set him apart," Wheeler told the News. "What he went through, his two sons, his crashes. He almost died."

Also, Wheeler said, "He never said no to anybody who asked him anything."