Bobby Allison (racecar driver)

Bobby Allison (racecar driver), born in 1937, American automobile racer, who won 84 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) events during his career. Robert Arthur Allison was born in Miami, Florida. He entered his first automobile race when he was still in high school, but then worked as a mechanic for a few years before returning to automobile racing. After racing various other types of cars for several years, in 1961 he began driving NASCAR vehicles on the Winston Cup circuit, the major annual series in stock-car racing.

Allison won his first Winston Cup race, in Oxford, Maine, in 1966. In 1971 he set a NASCAR record by winning eight races of 500 miles or more in a single year, establishing himself as one of the leading drivers on the Winston Cup circuit. In 1978, 1982, and 1988 he won the Daytona 500, stock-car racing's premier event, held in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1983 he won the Winston Cup season championship.

Allison was involved in a serious accident in 1988 in the Miller High Life 500 in Pocono, Pennsylvania, which ended his driving career. At the time his 84 Winston Cup victories ranked third on the NASCAR career list. During his recuperation he established Bobby Allison Motorsports Team, Inc., a team that operates a car on the NASCAR circuit. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.