It is probably fair to say that the name Davey Allison will not ring any bells. Even among NASCAR fans, the name still might not bring recognition. That’s because Davey Allison was a NASCAR personality before the days of humongous television contracts. Honestly, his memory fading makes me sad.
Davey Allison, as I said, was a NASCAR personality. He was young, good-looking, and approachable. In short, he was great to be around and great for sponsors. He can be thought of as a Jeff Gordon before Jeff Gordon. To this day, television loves Jeff Gordon. But, prior to Jeff Gordon, television loved Davey Allison, Bill Elliott, and Dale Earnhardt. However, tragedy cut the love affair with Davey short. Here’s a quick look back at his career and life.
Strong NASCAR racing influence - A family affair
Davey Allison was born in February 1961. He joined the family of NASCAR Winston Cup driver, Bobby Allison. So, the attraction to cars and racing was inevitable. Eventually, Davey started working in his father’s garage. This inspired him down the road to build his own car.
Then, in 1983, according to Bleacher Report. Davey joined the Automobile Racing Club of America series, or ARCA series. He quickly found success, becoming a Rookie of the Year in the following year, and continuing to win races. He was on a roll quick!
By 1985, Davey Allison had already moved to NASCAR’s Busch Series. In keeping with his talent, he continued his streak of doing well. Then, later that year, the big career break happened. He was asked to fill in for a Winston Cup race. The Winston Cup Series was the premier series for NASCAR (now called just, The Cup Series). Unsurprisingly, Davey did well. That led to other opportunities in 1986. There was no looking back.
Along the way, fans and competitors found Davey approachable as well as talented. Consequently, his fans loved him. More importantly, he loved his fans. That combination was very attractive to corporate sponsors. Once he got to NASCAR’s Winston Cup series, Davey had no problem finding a sponsor to drive for.
NASCAR sponsors were lining up for Davey Allison
In 1987, Davey Allison began his Rookie of the year campaign in the No. 28 with Texaco Havoline as a sponsor for his Ford Thunderbird. That year started with a bang as Davey managed to become the first rookie to qualify on the front row of the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s most prestigious race.
Most people that recall Davey Allison’s NASCAR career immediately associate him with the Texaco Havoline racing livery. That livery was either in a white or a black car. In either case, the car looked impressive and the media thought the driver was impressive. It was a perfect combination.
Wikipedia summed up the statistical portion of Davey’s career. “In his short NASCAR Winston Cup career, Allison posted 19 wins, 66 top-five finishes, and 92 top-ten finishes. He also won 14 poles and earned $6,724,174.”
A tragic crash ends everything
Sadly, tragedy is a part of motorsports, not just NASCAR. So, the thought that Davey Allison would die on-track in an accident might not be too surprising to some. But, the reality is that Davey did not die while in a race, or even in a car. Instead, it was a helicopter crash that cut his life short.
Davey had added a helicopter to his household. Although he had few hours in it, he decided to take the craft to see a race. In July 1993, upon approaching to land, the helicopter crashed and took with it the life of one of NASCAR’s fan and media darlings. Thankfully, a passenger he was carrying survived the crash.
People have asked me who my favorite driver in NASCAR is. To this day, I still say that unfortunately, he’s dead. Often people assume I’m referring to Dale Earnhardt Sr.. While I respect Earnhardt and was saddened by his loss as well, it is Davey Allison that I’m referring to. Somehow, I connected to Davey more than to Earnhardt. Either way, both of their losses hit me hard. Davey’s loss was the first time I found that a celebrity’s life impacted me. I found myself actually shaken by the death of someone I had never met, except by television (the internet was in its infancy back then). I wondered about the family and what I could do.
I was young when Davey Allison passed away. I didn’t know what I could do to keep his memory alive back then. Now that I’m older, I have been able to cultivate my writing ability. So, it is with great respect, and to honor Davey Allison, that I have chosen to write this piece. It is my hope that in reading it, my reader will remember or learn about the great NASCAR driver and general good guy that Davey Allison was, and still is in my mind’s eye.