Bobby Allison’s Bests
by Tom Jensen August 09, 2023
Hall of Famer Bobby Allison blazed a remarkable trail across NASCAR, consistently winning, no matter what the car, the team or the track.
Winning, it’s what Bobby Allison did and did best.
The Class of 2011 NASCAR Hall of Famer won pretty much everywhere he went. It didn’t matter what track, what team or what car. Allison just kept winning, piling up 84 race victories, according to NASCAR or 85, according to Allison.
Whatever the exact number, it was good enough to rank Allison fifth all-time in NASCAR wins. Let’s not forget that Allison won the 1983 Cup Series championship. And if you break down Allison’s wins by category, they are remarkably diverse. Following are five of Allison’s bests, ranked by category.
Chevrolets, like the No. 28 Monte Carlo owned by Harry Ranier, proved to be a great fit for Bobby Allison. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Best Manufacturer
Allison posted double-digit victories with four different automakers, winning 10 races in Dodges, 19 in Fords and 20 in Buicks. But his biggest number came behind the wheel of Chevrolets, where he won 24 races. All told, Allison’s Chevrolet victories were spread over nine seasons ranging from 1963 to 1983.
Always a force to be reckoned with, Bobby Allison (No. 88) enjoyed some of his best years when he drove for DiGard Racing. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Best Team
For better and for worse, Allison moved around an awful lot as a driver. The leader of the so-called “Alabama Gang” of racers won in cars owned by 13 different individuals, including himself. More impressively, he posted double-digit victories with four of those different car owners, including Holman-Moody Racing (10 wins), Richard Howard (10) and Class of 2011 Hall of Famer Bud Moore (14). Those were all excellent victory totals, but Allison’s best results came at DiGard Racing, where he won 16 races and the 1983 Cup Series title.
When it came to lucky numbers, No. 12 was it for Bobby Allison. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Best Number
Another crazy stat here: Allison’s 84 career victories were spread across 10 different car numbers. The best of the car numbers for Allison was the No. 12, with which he won 25 races. Allison won in the No. 12 in his own Dodges, in Richard Howard’s No. 12 Chevrolets and No. 12 Holman-Moody Racing Ford and Mercury entries, among others. In 1988, Allison’s final season of racing, he changed his car number from 22 to 12 and scored his 84th and final Cup Series race victory in the Daytona 500, where he took the checkered flag ahead of his son Davey.
Victory Lane was a common stop for Bobby Allison and his wife Judy in the early 1970s. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Best Years
Allison posted double-digit victory totals in two consecutive seasons. The Alabama driver won 10 races each in 1971 and ’72. During the first of his 10-race seasons, Allison drove 17 races in his own Dodges, 23 races in Mercury and Ford race cars owned by Charlotte-based Holman-Moody Racing and pair of races in the No. 49 Ford Mustang owned by Melvin Joseph of Delaware. Allison drove Joseph’s Mustang to a victory at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a runner-up finish in the West Virginia 500 at International Raceway Park in Ona (now Ona Speedway). Those were the only two NASCAR races Joseph ever competed in.
A year later, in 1972, all 10 of Allison’s victories came behind the wheel of No. 12 Chevrolets owned by race promoter Richard Howard.
Bobby Allison won seven times at Richmond Raceway, often dominating at the historic Virginia short track. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Best Tracks
One of the most impressive facts about Allison was his versatility. During his Hall of Fame career, Allison won races at 27 different tracks, 14 of which were places where we won at least three races. It didn’t matter to Allison if he raced on a tight bullring, a road course or a superspeedway. He was going to contend for the victory everywhere he raced. One sixth of Allison’s 84 career victories came at two tracks, Dover International Speedway and Richmond Raceway, where he won 7 times each.
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