(By Greg Engle)
Posted: Tuesday,June 30th, 2009
(By Reid Spencer,Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service)
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Former Sprint Cup champions Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip are two of the first 25 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the Hall announced Tuesday.
Five of the nominees will be inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame class, which will be selected by a panel of motorsports luminaries and journalists. The NASCAR Hall of Fame opens in May 2010 in Charlotte.
The first two nominees are tied for third on NASCAR’s all-time Cup win list with 84 victories each. Allison won the series title in 1983. Waltrip is a three-time champion, having claimed the trophy in 1981, 1982 and 1985.
Allison is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500; in fact, his last victory in the Daytona 500 came in 1988 in a dramatic 1-2 finish with his son Davey Allison.
Allison, however, has no memory of that victory, nor of anything else that happened in 1988, because of a violent, near-fatal crash at Pocono later that year. The wreck ended Allison’s career.
Waltrip added the Daytona 500 to his resume in 1989, driving for Rick Hendrick, in his 17th attempt at NASCAR’s most prestigious race. Waltrip is fifth on the all-time Cup pole list with 59, one more than Allison.
All 25 nominees will be named Thursday during a one-hour special on Speed beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Darrell Waltrip - Driver, NASCAR Hall of Fame Finalist
BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 22, 1981: Junior Johnson Mountain Dew driver Darrell Waltrip does it again at Bristol in the Bristol 500 in 1981. (Photo by RacingOne/Getty Images)
Birthdate: February 5, 1947
Hometown: Owensboro, Ky.
Competed: 1972-2000
Starts: 809
Wins: 84
Poles: 59
A three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion (1981-82, ’85), Waltrip won all three with legendary driver/owner Junior Johnson. Waltrip is tied with Bobby Allison for third all-time in series victories with 84. His 59 poles rank fifth all-time in NASCAR Sprint Cup history. He competed from 1972-2000, another highlight being his 1989 Daytona 500 victory in a Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolet.
Waltrip’s first series title came in 1981, when he finished with 12 wins and 21 top fives in 31 races. He won the title by 53 points over Bobby Allison. In his second championship season, 1982, he finished with 12 wins and 20 top 10s in 30 races, sweeping both races at four tracks (Nashville, Bristol, Talladega and North Wilkesboro). In his third championship season, 1985, Waltrip finished with three wins and 21 top 10s in 28 races.
Waltrip and his wife, Stevie, reside in Franklin, Tenn. He was nicknamed “Jaws” during his career because of an outspoken demeanor. He currently is a commentator on FOX’s NASCAR broadcasts. He was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998.
Bobby Allison - Driver, NASCAR Hall of Fame Finalist
Bobby Allison
Birthdate: Dec. 3, 1937
Hometown: Hueytown, Ala.
Competed: 1961-88
Starts: 718
Wins: 84
Poles: 58
Bobby Allison, the 1983 champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, ended his career with 84 victories – tied for third on the all-time victory list with Darrell Waltrip.
A charter member of the “Alabama Gang,” the longtime resident of Hueytown, Ala., has become one of NASCAR’s most beloved former competitors, in large part because of his remarkable resilience after a career-ending accident at Pocono Raceway in 1988 – just several months after he won the Daytona 500.
Allison continues to be cherished by the millions of fans who remember his long list of accomplishments:
His 1983 championship season;
His three (1978, ’82 ’88) Daytona 500 victories – especially the third, when he beat his son Davey to the finish, earning what would be his last victory; And his fantastic 1972 season when, driving for another legend, Junior Johnson, he won 10 races, had 12 second-place efforts and 11 poles, in the process finishing second to Richard Petty in the series championship standings
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