On Feb. 14, 1988, Bobby Allison went into the prestigious Daytona 500 as the driver heavily favored to win. The native of Miami, FL. and longtime resident of Hueytown, AL. was in one of the best rides of his career with Stavola Brothers Racing and came to Daytona International Speedway and Speedweeks of 1988 with a strong Buick that had engine power to spare. Allison had already won NASCAR’s premier race twice before in 1978 for Bud Moore Engineering and 1982 for Digard Racing and all that stopped him from winning this time was to stay out of trouble and have a car under him that would hold together.
Allison qualified third in the 42-car field. He and son Davey, in the Harry Ranier-owned No. 28 Ford, led the field to the start-finish line to complete the first lap. Throughout the 200-lap race, the 50-year –old superstar and future NASCAR Hall of Famer led 70 laps race including the final 18 circuits. Interestingly, the Allisons reunited in first and second in the closing laps and battled one another for the win. Never before or since has a father and son battled for a Daytona 500 victory.
As the two drivers reached the final lap, they were able to put some distance on drivers Phil Parsons, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader. While in the third turn of the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Davey dropped low hoping to gain ground on his dad, but the engine power was the story of the day. The elder Allison held the lead and won the race by two car lengths. As they traveled toward the first turn, Davey keyed his two-way radio and told his crew, “I tried him low, but he was just too strong.”
After Bobby drove his Stavola Brothers Buick into victory lane, television and radio interviews were followed by a grand celebration. In the photo, Bobby is holding Davey by the arm while he pours beer over his head, a tradition he felt his son should have been a part of. Davey had changed out of his driver’s uniform into a dress shirt, sweater and jeans and was ready for the private airplane trip back to Hueytown. Bobby was known for his deadly accurate champagne spraying in victory lane after winning Cup Series races. This day, beer, his sponsor, was sprayed or poured on anyone close by.
Four months after his win at Daytona, Bobby suffered a near fatal crash at Pocono Raceway on June 19, 1988. As a result of that crash, he still does not remember the amazing Daytona 500 win that year. A long recovery period followed but through a great deal of prayer, he was able to recover from his injuries. Some lingering effects from the crash remain.
“I’ve watched that race at least 100 times and I still can remember it,” Bobby said. “Davey finished second to me that day and I saw where he came to victory lane to see me, and we celebrated the win. It was a tremendous day and I see that it was, and I’m told that it was. But I don’t remember any of it. My doctors told me that could be part of the recovery. I’m incredibly fortunate to be alive because that crash at Pocono should have killed me but it didn’t. That was 34 years ago. It’s frustrating. Maybe someday I’ll watch it and it will come back to me but so far, it hasn’t.”