Tag: Alabama Gang

  • Hot 20 – A Senior Driver Leads the Pack into Dover as Others Prepare to Ride into the Sunset

    Hot 20 – A Senior Driver Leads the Pack into Dover as Others Prepare to Ride into the Sunset

    Time can bring us many wonderful memories, but it comes with change. Most of us are not all that fond of change. Once we watched the likes of Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and the Alabama Gang take to the track, to thrill us with their exploits. That was then. Time changed that.

    Jeff Gordon prepares to enter his 790th consecutive Cup race, but time is ticking down on his great Hall of Fame career. Tony Stewart has one more season left in him, then he goes to the sidelines. NASCAR gives us a little more time for most of our favorites than other sports, where our heroes are usually finished by the time they hit 40. Still, even in NASCAR, it is an age when the countdown seems to begin, whether we like it or not.

    We have Greg Biffle, 45, and Matt Kenseth, 43, getting up there. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson both are now 40. Next season, so will Kevin Harvick. Sure, there is always a Chase Elliott working his way up, or an Erik Jones, but we treasure those who we cheered for in our youth, then for those our own age who claimed our support, then we watch those even younger than ourselves hanging them up. Damned time.

    Nothing makes a person feel older than when one of the kids decides to retire. We might find some solace in that one of those seniors is leading the pack heading into Dover this weekend. A senior. I was already driving when that old fossil was born. At least I can still do the same number of backflips that I could do forty years ago.

    I wonder what it is like to do a backflip?

    Here are our Hot 20 heading to their date with the Monster Mile.

    1. MATT KENSETH – CHASE WIN
    You do not have to be the most dominant as long as you finish first.

    2. DENNY HAMLIN – CHASE WIN
    First at Chicago, second at Loudon. Is Hamlin trying to tell us something?

    3. CARL EDWARDS – 2089 POINTS
    A Top 30 finish is all he needs to move on.

    4. JOEY LOGANO – 2089
    As long as it isn’t in a first lap wreck, staying up with Edwards should do the trick.

    5. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2083
    A visit to Dover and an 11th win on the Monster Mile would be lovely at this time of year.

    6. RYAN NEWMAN – 2074
    How did he end up way up here?

    7. KURT BUSCH – 2073
    Minimal success, with minimal problems, just might work in the Challenger round.

    8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2072
    Jumped a re-start, was running second at the first turn, then 24th after the penalty.

    9. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2071
    I’m thinking a move to Toyota sure beats a move to Volkswagen about now. Just sayin’.

    10. JEFF GORDON – 2068
    The length of Gordon’s Cup career is about to turn 790 races long, with no interruptions.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2058
    It is time for McMurray to McDrive his arse off.

    12. DALE EARNHARDT, JR. – 2057
    Driving with an empty bladder is a joy for us, not so much late in the race in NASCAR.

    13. PAUL MENARD – 2056
    Can a driver with a single career Cup win really be a serious candidate for the championship?

    14. KYLE BUSCH – 2056
    Damn tire. Damn wall.

    15. KEVIN HARVICK – 2034
    Dear Kyle: It could be worse.

    16. CLINT BOWYER – 2018
    Tony promises to never goad me into spinning out on purpose, so I will never have to fib again.

    17. KASEY KAHNE – 732
    2016 came a lot earlier than Kasey had hoped.

    18. ARIC ALMIROLA – 728
    Came close to making the Chase, but even closer to the wall at New Hampshire.

    19. KYLE LARSON – 683
    Stewart wanted the 23-year-old Larson, settled for the 36-year old Bowyer in 2017.

    20. GREG BIFFLE – 675
    Finishing fourth at Loudon means we might not see Austin Dillon make this list again in 2015.

  • The Allison Legacy Continues On; 18 Years Later

    The Allison Legacy Continues On; 18 Years Later

    The world weighs on my shoulders, but what am I to do? You sometimes drive me crazy, but I worry about you.” These few lyrics from Rush, one of rock’s more infamous bands tells a small story about the life of the Allison family, and “The grace under pressure” they endured while racing in the NASCAR series.

    [media-credit name=”bobbyallison.com” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]Many times I have sat back thinking how much worrying did Bobby Allison go through watching his sons Davey and Clifford take up the same sport that he so much excelled at, without ever knowing one day this same sport would take his other love—that being not one, but both of his son’s.

    Looking back, where would the hands of time actually stop to reflect on the remarkable Allison legacy? Would it be the 1988 Daytona 500, when Davey chased his dad around the track and fell short of what would be his first 500 victory? Instead of the victory, he got to see up close his dad win his third 500, and the younger Allison finished second.

    Or would it be 1992, when Davey would win his one only 500, four years after his father won his third? Never in the history of NASCAR racing, has one state been so close to a racing family, as Alabama was to the Allison’s. Along with fellow drivers Neil Bonnett and Red Farmer, Bobby and Donnie Allison started the famous Alabama gang, which also included Bobby’s sons Davey and Clifford once they became regulars on the NASCAR circuit.

    As Bobby and Donnie continued to make NASCAR a way of life and keep the family name in the forefront, Davey and Clifford continued to follow in their father’s footsteps while trying to make names for themselves. After a near-fatal accident at Pocono, 27 years and 84 race wins into his racing career, Bobby’s career was over and he retired. Meanwhile, Davey was out making history of his own trying so hard to follow in his dad’s footsteps, in order to keep the Allison legacy alive.

    Sponsorship during Davey’s era didn’t come easy, and just because you had a famous last name it didn’t mean that they were lining up at your door to sign you. A driver not only had to prove himself, but he also had to show them he really wanted it. Davey had a special racing talent, and he proved it by going to victory lane twice in his rookie season. During his nine years racing in the Winston Cup Series, Davey visited victory lane an astounding 19 times—including five victories in 1991.

    1992 would turn out to be Davey’s best season with five trips to victory lane, along with being his worse with some pretty violent wrecks. This same year in August, the Allison’s suffered the worst loss of all when Clifford, died in a crash during practice at Michigan International Speedway for a Busch series race.

    It was a beautiful July day in 1993, the sun shining brightly on Davey’s career with Bobby, Robert Yates and Larry McReynolds all getting together to plan out Davey’s rise to stardom in hopes of continuing the Allison legacy. The very next day, 11 months after the death of Clifford, the racing god’s would once again come knocking at the door of the Allison’s. Tragedy would once again strike them, as Davey would die in a helicopter crash, and the Allison legacy would end on a tragic note.

    The state of Alabama would go into mourning in honor of their fallen hero. Headlights burned throughout the day on the highways and byways of Alabama. Tragically, only a year later, the Alabama gang would become a memory with the death of Neil Bonnett. Davey was well on his way to beating the odds of following in his dad’s footsteps where many have tried, and yet many had failed. This is the 18 year anniversary of the day that shook the racing world, but the memory of the Allison legacy and the Alabama gang lives on.