Davey Allison...

[FreeBird]

Gone but never forgotten!

[CIRF]

Has it really been 27 years? Dam!

I vaguely remember watching Davey race an ARCA car at The Springfield Mile back in August of 1984. His dad Bobby watched him from a press box in the grandstands. Bobby was immediately recognized and acknowledged the crowd. Davey didn't fair so well at Springfield or Du Quoin on the dirt that year. He drover a Miller Beer sponsored Buick Regal that IIRC looked very much like the cars his dad Bobby drove in those days.

RIP Davey.

[Morgs153]

Things would have sure been different in the world of Earnhardt had there not been the untimely passings of Davey, Tim Richmond, and Alan Kulwicki. Davey was a special talent of that era and probably one of my last favorite cup drivers. I still keep an unworn Davey shirt tucked away.

That family has sure been through a lot when you think about.

[CIRF]

Things would have sure been different in the world of Earnhardt had there not been the untimely passings of Davey, Tim Richmond, and Alan Kulwicki. Davey was a special talent of that era and probably one of my last favorite cup drivers. I still keep an unworn Davey shirt tucked away.

That family has sure been through a lot when you think about.

On paper I can't disagree, Morgs. However, on the other hand from a practical and factual perspective it's proven and documented that arnhead and Chidress had NASCAR and Billy France Jr. deeply in their pockets. Richmond definitely didn't hold any favor with NASCAR and France Jr. and I'm reasonably sure Kulwicki was not going to displace arnhead as France Jr. and NASCAR's fair haired boy. Davey showed he held some favor when they (NASCAR) took the race win away from Ricky Rudd and gave it to Davey out at Sonoma but yet let the win stand when arnhead did even worse to Terry Labonte at Bristol. That said it's unclear if Davey was wired in tight enough for NASCAR to watch over him as opposed to arnhead had he not been killed.

I know that sounds rather cynical but all evidence indicates that to be fact.

What happened to Bobby at Pocono, later the death of Clifford at Michigan and the death of Davey proved more than Bobby's marriage would endure but thankfully they reconciled and got back together. I can't imagine the pain and grief they have undergone.

[Raceready]

I'm not convinced that Ricky Rudd even touched Davy Allisons car on that downhill curve that day. From all the angles that I viewed, it looks as if Davey just plain came in a little too hot and lost it.

[fastford]

my davey story , i was doing some business with robert yates and davey had brought me some parts to his home in hueytown , i stopped by to get them and noticed his helicopter on a pier in his pond , i went in to get them and he was at his desk and asked me to sit down for a chat , i asked him about the copter on the pier and he said the neighbors were complaining about all the dust kicking up so he had the pier built on his pond . Two weeks later he and red farmer crashed at talladega and davey was gone . every one thinks his dad was the reason davey was racing , and financially it was probably true , but red farmer was the one that helped davey the most as bobby was hardly ever around , i remember watching them race at TST when i was 15 , they would run BIR on asphalt on friday night and TST on sat night ....RIP davey , you were on your way to being one of the best......

[Barbecueboy]

Things would have sure been different in the world of Earnhardt had there not been the untimely passings of Davey, Tim Richmond, and Alan Kulwicki. Davey was a special talent of that era and probably one of my last favorite cup drivers. I still keep an unworn Davey shirt tucked away.

That family has sure been through a lot when you think about.

Bobby was always my favorite and when Davey started racing he became my favorite....I bought a phone( one with a cord ,that actually plugged in a wall) that was in the shape and colors of the 28 car a couple weeks before he died.

Had plans of using it in my office at the time, but it has never been out of the box.....my most cherished piece of memorabilia from any form of racing, and I have a couple of cool things.

[CIRF]

my davey story , i was doing some business with robert yates and davey had brought me some parts to his home in hueytown , i stopped by to get them and noticed his helicopter on a pier in his pond , i went in to get them and he was at his desk and asked me to sit down for a chat , i asked him about the copter on the pier and he said the neighbors were complaining about all the dust kicking up so he had the pier built on his pond . Two weeks later he and red farmer crashed at talladega and davey was gone . every one thinks his dad was the reason davey was racing , and financially it was probably true , but red farmer was the one that helped davey the most as bobby was hardly ever around , i remember watching them race at TST when i was 15 , they would run BIR on asphalt on friday night and TST on sat night ....RIP davey , you were on your way to being one of the best......

Great story, ff. The bittersweet comes through loud and clear. I watched Davey win the Daytona 500 and that was a very popular win. I always had a soft spot for Davey due to the fact that he came to Springfield and Du Quoin and raced on the dirt in a full sized Cup style stock car. Even though he never fared too well he was willing to show up to race and that put him in another category in my book.

I just want to clarify what I posted prior. I don't believe Davey, Tim and Allen would not have made things much tougher for ol' arnhead, they would have. They probably would have somewhat altered the record books. But ol' arnhead was always going to be Billy France Jr.'s favorite. Ricky Rudd, in a recent interview with Earnhardt Jr. pretty much eliminated any doubt about who was the chosen one in those days.

[Rajflyboy]

Joe Diffey? I seem to remember his name thrown into this thing back in the day?

[Rajflyboy]

Davey would have given Jeff Gordon trouble in the 1990’s. I hate that we never had the chance to see that rivalry.

[jog49]

"Bobby was always my favorite and when Davey started racing he became my favorite....I bought a phone( one with a cord ,that actually plugged in a wall) that was in the shape and colors of the 28 car a couple weeks before he died."

You say you had a phone that plugged in the wall. What's that all about? LOL!

[Barbecueboy]

"Bobby was always my favorite and when Davey started racing he became my favorite....I bought a phone( one with a cord ,that actually plugged in a wall) that was in the shape and colors of the 28 car a couple weeks before he died."

You say you had a phone that plugged in the wall. What's that all about? LOL!

Yup....it plugged into the wall in a thing called a phone jack and sat very close to something else that isn't around anymore , a kitchen table where we all used to eat dinner.......and to top it all off, we ate dinner together.

Crazy ain't it?

[Morgs153]

CIRF,

I hear what you're saying. I remember reading a piece written by a guy used to help Kulwicki back when he ran in the USAC stock car circuit - well before he went south on his own to race cup. Apparently there was some race in Charlotte and Wheeler wanted to boost up the car count so he invited a bunch of the USAC guys who had pony cars, as they were allowed in that series. This might have been one of those short lived NASCAR superspeedway mod affairs where those cars would do well.

So, while they were in the garage and teching for this race Earnhardt was roaming the garage and whispering in the ears of some of the tech people. After that, anyone who came from up north with one of those cars had a he!! of a time get a timely pass through tech.

I not only thought the organization was "pro-3" but also pro-GM so he was with the right team. But I just think some of those wins would have been a good bit harder to come by if the three I mentioned would have been able to remain. Davey was with a very good team at Yates. They would have been strong for a while - or until some rule change came along to hobble an advantage

[Rajflyboy]

Dale Jarett did pretty good with Robert Yates in the 90’s

[CIRF]

CIRF,

I hear what you're saying. I remember reading a piece written by a guy used to help Kulwicki back when he ran in the USAC stock car circuit - well before he went south on his own to race cup. Apparently there was some race in Charlotte and Wheeler wanted to boost up the car count so he invited a bunch of the USAC guys who had pony cars, as they were allowed in that series. This might have been one of those short lived NASCAR superspeedway mod affairs where those cars would do well.

So, while they were in the garage and teching for this race Earnhardt was roaming the garage and whispering in the ears of some of the tech people. After that, anyone who came from up north with one of those cars had a he!! of a time get a timely pass through tech.

I not only thought the organization was "pro-3" but also pro-GM so he was with the right team. But I just think some of those wins would have been a good bit harder to come by if the three I mentioned would have been able to remain. Davey was with a very good team at Yates. They would have been strong for a while - or until some rule change came along to hobble an advantage

I'd never heard that story, Morgs, but I believe it 100%.

I also believe you're spot on regarding things being much harder for the #3 Childress car if those other 3 guys had been around for the duration. Didn't mean to discount your point because it is very well taken.

I believe, from an outsider perspective, that even after Jeff Gordon began his string of wins and championships in the eyes of the Chevrolet racing division ol' arnhead and Childress were still the #1 Chevrolet team.

I was a big Terry Labonte fan and to just a bit lesser degree a Bobby Labonte fan. Back in 2000, late in Bobby's Cup Championship year, I waited race after race in late September, October and early November for NASCAR to pull some BS on Bobby like they did with Mark Martin in the early 1990's where they (NASCAR) took a bunch of points away from Roush and Martin for what was considered a circumstantial infraction. That points penalty went a long way in handing arnhead the championship and cost a more than deserving Mark Martin a Cup title. NASCAR never did find anything for which they could hammer the 18 team and Bobby got his Cup Championship! Arnhead was well within striking distance of Bobby during the waning days of that 2000 season.

The fact that he prevented arnhead from getting an 8th Cup was as satisfying as Bobby getting the championship.