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Remembering Davey Allison, who would have been 54 today

davey allison magazine cover

Today marks what would have been the 54th birthday of the late Davey Allison.

The oldest of four children of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison and wife Judy, the younger Allison was well on his way to becoming one of the sport’s greats when his life was cut short in a tragic helicopter crash.

Allison compiled 19 wins, 66 top-five and 92 top-10 finishes in 191 Winston Cup starts, most of those coming behind the wheel of the No. 28 Robert Yates Racing and Texaco-Havoline sponsored Ford.

Allison’s best season finish was third place in both 1991 and 1992, with current Fox Sports NASCAR analyst Larry McReynolds as his crew chief for much of that time.

Allison was critically injured in a crash while attempting to land a helicopter in the infield of Talladega Superspeedway on July 12, 1993. He would die early the next morning.

His lone passenger, legendary racer Red Farmer, was also seriously injured in the crash but eventually recovered.

Davey Allison’s death marked the end of a dark 12-month period in NASCAR. Allison’s younger brother, Clifford, was killed while practicing at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 12, 1992. And reigning Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki was killed less than three months prior to Davey Allison’s death in a plane crash near Bristol Motor Speedway.

Follow @JerryBonkowski