Donnie Allison

Donnie Allison
Allison at Rockingham Speedway in 2012
Born	(1939-09-07) September 7, 1939 Miami, Florida, U.S.
Achievements	1970 World 600 Winner 1971 Winston 500 Winner 1970 Firecracker 400 Winner 1975 Snowball Derby winner
Awards	1967 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year 1970 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2009) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2024)
NASCAR Cup Series career
242 races run over 20 years
Best finish	16th (1967)
First race	1966 National 500 (Charlotte)
Last race	1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan)
First win	1968 Carolina 500 (Rockingham)
Last win	1978 Dixie 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 10 115 18
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
20 races run over 5 years
Best finish	34th (1987)
First race	1984 Miller Time 300 (Charlotte)
Last race	1989 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 5 0
NASCAR Grand National East Series career
2 races run over 1 year
First race	1972 Mr. D's 200 (Nashville)
Last race	1972 Mountaineer 300 (West Virginia)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of February 28, 2013.

Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison and Clifford Allison. He was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 19, 2024.

NASCAR career

Before racing in the Grand National Series, Allison, like his brother Bobby, drove modified stock cars. Allison managed to get ten wins in NASCAR Cup Series competition with his first coming at the 1968 Carolina 500 at Rockingham Speedway and his final coming at the 1978 Dixie 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Allison would suffer serious injuries at the 1981 Coca-Cola 600, this would end his career in NASCAR for the most part. Allison would only race fourteen more Winston Cup races (he would also fail to qualify four times for races during this time) from 1982 to 1988. Allison also won the 1967 NASCAR Grand National Rookie of the Year.

1979 Daytona 500

Allison is perhaps best remembered for his involvement in a final-lap crash and a subsequent fight with Cale Yarborough in the 1979 Daytona 500. He was leading the race on the final lap with Yarborough drafting him tightly. As Yarborough started to go below Allison, he attempted to take the inside lane away but Yarborough hit Allison from behind first and got Allison sideways. Yarborough made contact with the side of Allison's car and it put him in the grass. He came back to hit Allison side to side and as both drivers tried to regain control, their cars made contact several times and finally locked together and crashed into the outside wall in turn 3. After the cars settled in the infield grass, Allison and Yarborough were in a heated conversation when, Bobby Allison, who finished laps down after his earlier collision with his brother, pulled over and to check on his brother, but Yarborough accused him of causing the accident and started to hit Bobby while Bobby was still in his car. At that point, a fight ensued. As the 1979 Daytona 500 was the first live flag-to-flag nationally televised NASCAR race, the finish and the post-race squabble were a ratings dream for CBS. Richard Petty, who was over half a lap behind at the time of the crash, went on to win the race. The fight made headlines all across America. The publicity was instrumental in the growth of NASCAR.

USAC career

Allison first raced in the USAC Championship Car Series in 1970. Driving the No. 83 Greer Eagle 67-Offenhauser for Ansted-Thompson Racing in the 1970 Indianapolis 500, he finished 4th and won the 1970 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award. He would have finished 20th in points, but because he was using a NASCAR license, he was ineligible for points. For the 1971 Allison drove the No. 84 Purolator Filters Coyote-Ford V8, finishing 6th in the Indianapolis 500. He also raced in the Rex Mays 150 at Milwaukee State Fairgrounds Speedway, the Schaefer 500 at Pocono International Raceway, and the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway, retiring from both. Allison was again ineligible for points.

• Allison held a twenty three year record for the Indianapolis 500 as the highest finishing Rookie from 1970 until 1993 when Nigel Mansell gained the title and broke his record.

After racing

Allison, who lives in Alabama and North Carolina, has been a television and radio commentator; has also been involved in his sons' Ronald, Donald and Kenny Allison's "Allison Brothers Race Cars" and the "Allison Legacy Race Series" as a consultant to the series and to many up and coming race drivers such as Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith, John Hunter Nemechek and several others

Awards

• 1967 NASCAR Grand National Rookie of the Year
• 1968 NASCAR Most Popular Driver Grand Touring Division (Baby Grand)
• 1970 Stark and Wetzel Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
• 1970 NASCAR Most Popular Driver Late Model Sportsman Division
• Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1999
• Inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2000
• Inducted into the Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame in 2001
• Inducted into the Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers in 2005
• Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009
• Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2011
• Inducted into the Augusta Raceway Preservation Society in 2017
• Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 2018
• Inducted into the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame
• Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2024

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1966	Robert Harper	05	Chevy	AUG	RSD	DAY	DAY	DAY	CAR	BRI	ATL	HCY	CLB	GPS	BGS	NWS	MAR	DAR	LGY	MGR	MON	RCH	CLT	DTS	ASH	PIF	SMR	AWS	BLV	GPS	DAY	ODS	BRR	OXF	FON	ISP	BRI	SMR	NSV	ATL DNQ	CLB	AWS	BLV	BGS	DAR	HCY	RCH	HBO	MAR	NWS	CLT 27	CAR 9						64th	1944
1967				AUG	RSD	DAY 20	DAY	DAY 11	AWS	BRI 7	GPS	BGS	ATL 12	CLB	HCY	NWS	MAR 19	SVH	RCH																																							16th	18298
	Donald Brackins	2	Chevy																	DAR 27	BLV 4	LGY 5		ASH 2*	MGR	SMR 15	BIR 15	CAR	GPS	MGY 19
	Jon Thorne	12	Dodge																				CLT 26
			Ford																												DAY 10	TRN	OXF	FDA	ISP				ATL 4	BGS	CLB	SVH	DAR 7	HCY	RCH	BLV	HBO	MAR 24	NWS	CLT 15	CAR 25	AWS
			Chevy																																	BRI 25	SMR	NSV
1968	Holman-Moody	66	Ford	MGR	MGY	RSD	DAY 40																																																			25th	1307
	Matthews Racing	27	Ford					BRI 30	RCH	ATL 3	HCY	GPS	CLB	NWS	MAR 3	AUG	AWS	DAR 29	BLV	LGY	CLT 2	ASH	MGR	SMR	BIR	CAR 1	GPS	DAY	ISP	OXF	FDA	TRN	BRI 34	SMR	NSV	ATL 3	CLB	BGS	AWS	SBO	LGY	DAR 10	HCY	RCH	BLV	HBO	MAR 8	NWS	AUG	CLT 6	CAR 16	JFC
1969				MGR	MGY	RSD	DAY 3	DAY	DAY 3*	CAR 6	AUG	BRI 5	ATL	CLB	HCY	GPS	RCH	NWS	MAR	AWS	DAR 34	BLV	LGY	CLT 2	MGR	SMR	MCH 27	KPT	GPS	NCF	DAY 3	DOV	TPN	TRN	BLV	BRI 3	NSV	SMR	ATL 5	MCH 33	SBO	BGS	AWS	DAR 4	HCY	RCH	TAL	CLB	MAR 31	NWS	CLT 1*	SVH	AUG	CAR 30	JFC	MGR	TWS 2	24th	1662
1970				RSD 4	DAY 4	DAY	DAY 35	RCH	CAR	SVH	ATL 7	BRI 1*	TAL	NWS 22	CLB	DAR	BLV	LGY	CLT 1*	SMR	MAR	MCH	RSD	HCY 17	KPT	GPS	DAY 1	AST	TPN	TRN	BRI 25	SMR	NSV	ATL 5	CLB	ONA	MCH 28	TAL	BGS	SBO	DAR 11*	HCY 6	RCH 3	DOV	NCF		CLT 18	MAR 5	MGR	CAR 4	LGY							40th	841
	Junior Johnson & Associates	98	Ford																																											NWS 3
1971	Matthews Racing	27	Mercury	RSD	DAY 6	DAY	DAY 26	ONT	RCH	CAR	HCY	BRI	ATL	CLB	GPS	SMR	NWS																																									29th	1280
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Mercury															MAR 15*	DAR 4*	SBO	TAL 1	ASH	KPT	CLT 2	DOV	MCH 4*	RSD	HOU	GPS	DAY 5	BRI	AST	ISP	TRN	NSV	ATL 6	BGS	ONA	MCH	TAL 41	CLB	HCY	DAR	MAR 5	CLT 3	DOV	CAR 39	MGR	RCH	NWS	TWS

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1972	Monty Myers	27	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	ONT	CAR	ATL 5	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL 28																					36th	1849.15
	Bud Moore Engineering	15	Ford												CLT 34	DOV	MCH 33			DAY 8	BRI	TRN	ATL 32				DAR 38	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 25	CAR	TWS
	Penske Racing	16	AMC															RSD 3	TWS
	Crawford Racing	22	Plymouth																					TAL 31	MCH	NSV
1973	DiGard Motorsports	59	Chevy	RSD	DAY DNQ	RCH 25	CAR	BRI 24	ATL	NWS 9	DAR																								35th	1755.75
		88										MAR 27				DOV 38	TWS	RSD	MCH 7	DAY 28	BRI	ATL 3	TAL 26	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV 12	NWS	MAR 34	CLT 32	CAR 6
		08											TAL 2	NSV	CLT
1974		88		RSD 6	DAY 6	RCH 17	CAR 27	BRI 5	ATL 5	DAR 4	NWS 7	MAR 23	TAL 36	NSV 2	DOV 30	CLT 30	RSD	MCH 20	DAY 33	BRI	NSV	ATL 30	POC	TAL 40	MCH	DAR	RCH	DOV 31	NWS	MAR 3	CLT 4	CAR 6	ONT		17th	728.8
1975				RSD	DAY 28	RCH	CAR 28	BRI	ATL 6	NWS	DAR 3	MAR 21	TAL 42	NSV	DOV 28	CLT 9	RSD	MCH 35	DAY 5	NSV	POC														28th	1376
	Ellington Racing	28	Chevy																			TAL 3	MCH	DAR	DOV	NWS	MAR					ATL 27	ONT
	Howard & Egerton Racing	27	Chevy																									CLT 33	RCH	CAR 9	BRI
1976	Ellington Racing	28	Chevy	RSD	DAY	CAR	RCH	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR 34	MAR	TAL 7	NSV	DOV 35	CLT 6	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR 33	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS				ONT 34		34th	988
		1																												CLT 1	CAR 7	ATL 3
1977				RSD	DAY 30	RCH	CAR 3	ATL 4	NWS	DAR 2	BRI	MAR 26	TAL 4*	NSV	DOV	CLT 33	RSD	MCH 24	DAY 6	NSV	POC	TAL 1*	MCH	BRI	DAR 2	RCH	DOV 4	MAR 28	NWS	CLT 36	CAR 1*	ATL 4*	ONT 42		24th	1970
1978			Olds	RSD	DAY 39	RCH															POC 35	TAL 2	MCH 29	BRI			DOV 9	MAR	NWS						25th	1993
			Chevy				CAR 31	ATL 3	BRI	DAR 23	NWS	MAR	TAL 24	DOV	CLT 2	NSV	RSD	MCH 5	DAY 33	NSV					DAR 24	RCH				CLT 4	CAR 20	ATL 1	ONT 3
1979				RSD 5		CAR 30	RCH 9	ATL 7	NWS 11	BRI 6	DAR 3	MAR 27				CLT 37	TWS	RSD	MCH 2	DAY 12	NSV	POC	TAL 30	MCH	BRI	DAR 31	RCH	DOV 2	MAR	CLT 5	NWS	CAR 4	ATL 35	ONT 11	24th	2508
			Olds		DAY 4*								TAL 23	NSV	DOV
1980				RSD	DAY 7	RCH																													26th	1730
			Chevy				CAR 5	ATL 26	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR
	Halpern Enterprises	02	Olds										TAL 25	NSV	DOV
	Ogden Racing	18	Chevy													CLT 31	TWS
	Kennie Childers Racing	12	Chevy															RSD 30	MCH 36		NSV 27	POC		MCH 3	BRI	DAR 32	RCH	DOV 7	NWS	MAR 6	CLT 5	CAR 22	ATL 37	ONT 39
			Olds																	DAY 19			TAL 26
1981				RSD	DAY 12	RCH	CAR 34	ATL 29	BRI	NWS	DAR	MAR																							44th	527
	John Rebhan	77	Olds										TAL 5	NSV	DOV 11	CLT 38	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD
1982	Ogden Racing	18	Buick	DAY 34	RCH	BRI	ATL 11	CAR 22																											45th	406
	Rogers Racing	37	Buick						DAR 9	NWS	MAR 30	TAL 6	NSV	DOV 8	CLT 37	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	CLT	MAR	CAR
	Ellington Racing	1	Olds																													ATL 38	RSD
1983	Cliff Stewart Racing	88	Pontiac	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	BRI	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL 36	RSD 14		NA	0
1986	Gray Racing	54	Chevy	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR 33	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD			114th	64
1987				DAY DNQ	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	NWS	BRI	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	RSD	ATL			NA	-
1988	AAG Racing	34	Buick	DAY DNQ	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN														81st	58
	Bob Clark Motorsports	31	Olds																			MCH 35	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1967	Robert Harper	Chevrolet	44	11
1968	Holman-Moody	Ford	7	40
1969	Matthews Racing	Ford	7	3
1970			7	35
1971		Mercury	11	26
1973	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	DNQ
1974			7	6
1975			1	28
1977	Ellington Racing	Chevrolet	1	30
1978		Oldsmobile	7	39
1979			2	4
1980			2	7
1981	Kennie Childers Racing	Oldsmobile	33	12
1982	Ogden Racing	Buick	29	34
1987	Gray Racing	Chevrolet	DNQ
1988	AAG Racing	Buick	DNQ

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NBSC	Pts	Ref
1984	A.G. Dillard Motorsports	22	Olds	DAY	RCH	CAR	HCY	MAR	DAR	ROU	NSV	LGY	MLW	DOV	CLT	SBO	HCY	ROU	SBO	ROU	HCY	IRP	LGY	SBO	BRI	DAR	RCH	NWS	CLT 8	HCY	CAR	MAR			72nd	142
1986	Collins Engineering	23	Buick	DAY 5	CAR	HCY	MAR	BRI	DAR 9	SBO	LGY	JFC	DOV	CLT 40	SBO	HCY	ROU	IRP	SBO	RAL	OXF	SBO	HCY	LGY	ROU	BRI	DAR 35	RCH	DOV	MAR	ROU	CLT 11	CAR 30	MAR	38th	597
1987				DAY 21	HCY	MAR 9	DAR 29	BRI 28	LGY	SBO	CLT 29	DOV	IRP 16	ROU	JFC	OXF	SBO	HCY	RAL	LGY	ROU	BRI	JFC	DAR 34	RCH	DOV	MAR 15	CLT 12	CAR 7	MAR					34th	957
1988				DAY 23	HCY	CAR	MAR	DAR	BRI	LNG	NZH	SBO	NSV	CLT 13	DOV	ROU	LAN	LVL	MYB	OXF	SBO	HCY	LNG	IRP	ROU	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT DNQ	CAR	MAR		63rd	218
1989				DAY 37	CAR	MAR	HCY	DAR	BRI	NZH	SBO	LAN	NSV	CLT	DOV	ROU	LVL	VOL	MYB	SBO	HCY	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	CAR	MAR			94th	52

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year	Make	Q1	Q2	Q3	1	2	Pos.	Pts	Ref
1978–79	Chevy	MCH 3	MCH	RSD	RSD 10	ATL 11	10th	NA
1979–80		MCH 8	MCH	RSD	RSD	ATL	NA	0

American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car

USAC Championship Car results
Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos.	Pts
1970	Foyt-Greer Racing	Eagle 67	Ford 159ci V8t	PHX	SON	TRE	INDY 4	MIL	LAN	CDR	MCH	IRP	ISF	MIL	ONT	DSF	INF	SED	TRE	SAC	PHX	20th	600
1971	Foyt-Greer Racing	Coyote 71	Ford 159ci V8t	RAF	RAF	PHX	TRE	INDY 6		POC 28	MCH	MIL	ONT 24	TRE	PHX							NC	0
		Coyote 69							MIL 17

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1970	Eagle	Ford	20	4	Foyt-Greer Racing
1971	Coyote	Ford	20	6	Foyt-Greer Racing

References

• Where Are They Now Article

External links

• Donnie Allison driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Donnie Allison: As I Recall... by Donnie Allison with Jimmy Creed, published by Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2005