NASCAR Hall of Fame countdown: Bobby Allison

Editor's note: Counting down the days until the NASCAR Hall of Fame announces its inaugural class, we're zeroing in on some of the nominees. The five inductees will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 14.

Bobby Allison

Competed: 1961-88

Starts: 718

Wins: 84

Poles: 58

The 1983 Cup champion, Allison ended his career with 84 victories – tied for third all time with Darrell Waltrip. A charter member of the “Alabama Gang,” Allison had three (1978, ’82 ’88) Daytona 500 victories and in the third, he beat his son Davey to the finish, earning what would be his last win.

In 1972, he won 10 races, had 12 second-place finishes and 11 poles and finished second to Richard Petty in the title hunt.

Tom Higgins on Bobby Allison

Motorsports writer and historian Tom Higgins shares a standout memory of the nominees we're featuring as we count down to the NASCAR Hall of Fame vote and announcement.

Darlingon, S.C. – Labor Day weekend, 1983

It was searing hot and humid on Labor Day, even by Darlington Raceway standards.

The air temperature ranged between 97 degrees and 100. The track temperature at the historic speedway as the Southern 500 rolled on reached approximately 150 degrees.

Several competitors had to either park or ask for relief drivers. In that NASCAR era drivers had neither air conditioning devices nor power steering, both available in years to come.

It was like a broiler in Bobby Allison’s Buick, but he wasn’t about to quit. Bobby simply had too much grit to wilt, a characteristic he showed throughout a storied career.

Allison advised his crew that something had to be done to get more air into the cockpit.

Crew chief Gary Nelson thought of an extreme solution.

During a pit stop Nelson used a power chisel to cut a rectangular hole in the car’s roof right over Allison’s head.

The extra ventilation helped Allison remain in strong contention, mainly battling Buddy Baker, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott.

NASCAR officials later ordered Nelson to cover the hole.

“We chiseled out the opening for safety reasons,” complained Nelson. “Drivers are dropping like flies.”

Allison passed Elliott for the lead with 26 of the race’s 367 laps remaining. He stayed ahead the rest of the way, winning by 9.38-seconds over Elliott.

“Because we put a different roll cage in our car, the ventilation was hampered a bit,” said Allison, destined to win the Winston Cup Series championship in ‘83. “That’s the reason we opened a hole in the roof.

“Conditions were tough. It was hotter in my car than any race I’ve run in years.”