Davey Allison and Sterling Marlin

Courtesy Allen Madding, speedwaymedia.com

His career really started in 1983 when he earned the pole and charged on to the victory in the April 30th Talladega ARCA race. He tied for "Most Popular Driver" in the NASCAR Dash series the same year. In March of 1983, he started in his first Busch race at Rockingham finishing 25th.

In 1984, he was named ARCA Rookie of the Year winning the ARCA races at Atlanta, Talladega, and Macon, GA. 1985 saw Davey take another 6 wins in the ARCA Series and he made 3 starts in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series driving for Hoss Ellington after David Pearson retired. In 1986, he made 5 Winston Cup events driving the #95 Sadler Brothers Chevrolet and one Winston Cup start in the #12 Junior Johnson Budweiser Chevrolet.

In 1987, he was hired to drive for the Rainer/Lindy team in the #28 Texaco Havoline Thunderbird. He wasted no time grabbing the pole at Daytona and a win at Talladega and a win at Dover.

1988 started out with Davey finishing second to his father Bobby at Daytona. His father was seriously injured at a crash at Pocono that same year. Davey won at Michigan. During this year, Rainer was struggling financially and Davey strongly encouraged his crew chief Robert Yates to buy the team. Yates mortgaged everything he owned and bough the team October of that year.

In 1989 Davey won at Talladega and at Daytona. He married Elizabeth Mason on August 30th and their daughter Krista Marie was born on December 24th.

In 1990 Davey won at Bristol while pitting on the back stretch and at Charlotte. In 1991, Yates brought on Larry McReynolds to assume crew chief responsibilities. The duo won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and events at Sears Point, Michigan, Rockingham and Phoenix. They also won the Daytona qualifier race and the Winston All-star event at Charlotte that year. July 30th of that year, Davey’s son Robert Grey was born.

1992 started out rough with Davey crashing his primary car in practice at the season opener in Daytona. The team worked around the clock to prepare the backup car which Davey took to victory circle winning the Daytona 500. Davey went on that year to take 5 wins in the 1992. The year had many tough moments for Allison. He was in a hard crash at Bristol and suffered separated cartilage, fractured his ribs, and tore ligaments and muscles in his right shoulder. At Pocono that year he was involved in a wreck with Darrell Waltrip and his car took flight in an 11 flip somersault landing on top of the guard rail. Two plates were inserted in his broken forearm and pins in his dislocated, shattered wrist. In August of that year, he lost his brother Clifford who died in a crash during a Busch Grand National practice session at Michigan. The season wound down to the final race at Atlanta. Davey was leading the Championship Points. A crash at lap 100 snatched the Championship title away and left Alan Kulwicki as the Winston Cup Champion. Davey won the Winston All-star race that year in dramatic fashion being knocked unconscious in a wreck with Kyle Petty at the finish line. Davey awoke in the hospital wanting to know who won the event.

His life was tragically cut short in a fatal helicopter crash at Talladega in 1993. He was flying in to watch his friend, Neil Bonnett’s son David test at the superspeedway. His final win came at Richmond that year. Before his death, Davey was leading the IROC Series Championship. Terry Labonte substituted for his fallen friend and clinched Davey the title.

In 1996 he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association’s Stock Car Hall of Fame at Darlington. In 1997 he was inducted into the Hero’s of Bristol Hall of Fame, and in 1998 he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega.

Davey was an avid outdoorsman and during the fall would arrive to the race track still wearing camouflage hunting clothes from hunting that morning. One story told is that after one of his wins at Talladega, he started to drive home in his pickup. He realized the truck was out of gas and he didn’t have any cash. He stopped at a local gas station outside Talladega and asked the owner if he could cash the race winning’s check. The owner gladly gave him a free tank of gas.

Davey posted 14 poles and 19 wins in his career winning at least 2 events every season that he competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.