May 3, 1987 - Allison Stories Rule The Day at Dega

The home state crowd was all jacked up over both Bobby Allison and his rookie son Davey being entered. Davey ran a white-hood Ford at Daytona back in February, but now his Ranier Ford had the Havoline Star emblazoned on the hood and full sponsorship on the quarters.

The race had only been underway a short while when we heard the unmistakable boom sound of an exploding tire in the tri-oval. In an instant, fencing was being shredded right before our eyes. Fortunately, we were a section or two away and didnt get any of the shrapnel up in our area. But for a moment we didnt know what was going on or who was involved.

Immediately, multiple cannon shots were heard as everyone else piled into the wreck and also blew tires. Only when the red No. 22 Miller Buick came to a rest did we realize it was Bobby. I vaguely remember a bit of hush although it was probably just the remaining cars having raced out of sight. There was certainly a murmur everywhere as everyone started trying to figure out what they had just seen. And I remember the absolute roar once we all realized Bobby was OK.

As the race went on, the crowd went absolutely nuts as Davey was clearly in a position to win. However, as a Petty fan, I was keeping my eye on another car the No. 21 Wood Brothers Citgo Ford driven by Kyle Petty. In the waning laps, Davey was clearly in control and raced on to his first career win before the home state crowd. Kyle pressed hard and passed a ton of cars late to end up third the best finish of his career I ever got to see in person until seeing him match it at the 2007 Coke 600 in Charlotte.

Bobby Allison's wreck set the wheels in motion for the return of the restrictor plates - plates still run on the cars more than a quarter-century later.

Davey's win was WILDLY popular with the Bama crowd. He and Robert Yates took off from there. Who could have guessed his near-miss at the 1992 championship would be his last hurrah before losing his life in the summer of 1993 - just six years after his first Cup win.

From J.C. Hayes collection.

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 05/03/18 11:09:15AM

As you prefaced, Chase, that day at Talladega had a huge impact on stock car racing still felt today.

By the way, standing beside Davey in the Talladega winner's circle photo you posted, wearing the Winston outfit, is Bob Janelle . Bob was my first assistant program manager of the Wrangler/Dale Earnhardt program when we started it in 1980. Bob came from a racing family. His uncle was Ray Janelle, a former northeastern midget and AMA motorcycle racer who relocated to the Miami area in the early 1950s, very late in his career and ended his racing driving stock cars.

Ray Jannelle - Uncle of Bob Janelle in the Talladega Victory Lane photo with Davey Allison

When Bob lived in Miami, he had driven a tow truck for Bobby Allison, so this was a really special win for him, too. Bob had been working for Daytona Speedway and was recommended to Wrangler by Jim Foster, ISC V.P. of Marketing & Communications when we hired him at Wrangler in 1980.

When I got to Daytona for 1981 SpeedWeeks, Bob took me by the hand and literally introduced me personally to everybody in the garage I needed to know. It would be impossible for me to ever repay Bob for all the intros he made and all the doors he opened for me. Bob was a very giving individual who never asked anything in return. I would have never made it in NASCAR without his tutelage.

Following the 1981 racing season, we promoted Bob to head up the new Wrangler AMA SuperCross Series stadium motocross program.

It was Bob who called me at home late Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend 1983 to inform me of the terrible head-on motorcycle accident in Oxford, NC that would claim the life of our Wrangler show car driver, Ricky Parham and his father.

After the leveraged buyout of Wrangler, prior to its sale, Bob went to work in Winston-Salem for RJR. The last time I saw Bob at the Richmond track in 1999, he was running the Featherlite at-track program and had a side business in Mooresville selling autographed racing tires. His wife, Pattie, was a former Eastern Airlines flight attendant based in Miami and they had a very cute litte redheaded boy named Joey, who would be about 35 today. Very scary. Time marches on.

The next season, 1988, I contracted late in the season to represent Plasti-Kote Spray paint. Davey's car owner, Robert Yates was in negotiations to purchase the team from Harry Ranier. We cut a deal for Robert to run a Plasti-Kote decal on Davey's car above the rocker panel and he and Davey became personal spokespersons for Plasti-Kote.

In February 1989, Plasti-Kote brought several busloads of guests to the Daytona 500. They stayed in Orlando. Robert and Davey spoke on Saturday night to the dinner group in Orlando. It fell to me to chauffeur Davey back to Daytona in my 1986 Ford station wagon Saturday night before the 500 with Davey sitting beside me. The longer I drove, the more nervous I was, but Davey was so polite and would do anything you asked.

We booked Davey and Robert Yates Racing's motel rooms for 1989 and often stayed beside or near Davey. Regardless the temperature, he'd keep the heat in his motel room wide open, "training for race day."

Sometimes it seems like just yesterday, other times, when I look at my grown daughters, it seems several lifetimes ago. But the memories can never be erased. Amazing the memories just one photo can unleash. Thanks, Chase.

Oh... also in the victory lane photo, that's then Ranier crew chief Joey Nuckols leaning across the windshield to touch Davey. Joey's then wife was a dental hygenist at my periodontist's office in Charlotte. I almost bit off her finger one day while under nitros oxide.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"