Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner.

Allison raced competitively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1961 to 1988, while regularly competing in short track events throughout his career.

Bobby and Donnie's televised fistfight with Cale Yarborough at the 1979 Daytona 500 has been credited with exposing NASCAR to a nationwide audience.

[citation needed] After he graduated from high school in 1955, Allison's mother thought she would derail his racing interest by sending him to Wisconsin to work for Mercury Outboard Motors, where her brother-in-law, Jimmy Hallett, was the national sales manager.

Kiekhaefer was a hard person to work for and several people got fired, so Allison decided to go back to Miami only after a little over two months.

The brothers returned home and Bobby convinced Red Farmer into coming back to Alabama with him.

[5] Allison moved full-time to the Grand National circuit in 1965[1] and got his first victory at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 12, 1966.

In 1972 he was voted national Driver of the Year after winning ten races and taking 11 poles, including a record five straight.

He was NASCAR Winston Cup Champion in 1983,[1] winning the Driver of the Year award again while driving for DiGard Racing.

[9] He also won the Firecracker 400 in 1982, making Allison the fourth driver to sweep both Sprint Cup point races at Daytona in the same year.

[11] He also made two starts in the 1972 Trans-Am Series, driving a Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) Datsun 510 in the Under 2.5 liter class; he finished third on debut at Laguna Seca.

[1] Allison was involved in an accident at Talladega in May 1987, that saw his car cut down a tire, turn sideways and go airborne into the protective catch fence that separates the speedway from the grandstands.

As a result of permanent injuries in a crash at Pocono (see below), Bobby had no memory of the final win of his career or of celebrating together with his son in victory lane.

Donnie led the second half of the race while Yarborough made up his lost laps through caution periods.

Bobby passed the wreckage, finished the race, and on his way back around stopped to check on his brother and make sure he wasn't hurt.

In 2000 when asked about the fist-fight Bobby said "I stopped to offer Donnie a ride to the garages and Cale comes running up saying I caused the wreck.

Allison however complains to this day that because he only made $4,000 in the race, he had his wife Judy help pay the fine (by contributing $2,000) and he was only refunded with $4,000 by officials.

When he reached a local hospital he was initially declared dead, but subsequent medical assistance saved his life.

After regaining most of his memory and re-learning everyday activities, Allison prepared to attempt a comeback in the early 1990s.

[21] Allison is one of ten drivers to have won what was then considered a career Grand Slam (an unofficial term) by winning the sport's four majors: the Daytona 500, the Winston 500, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500.

[22] Only nine other drivers have accomplished this feat: Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Buddy Baker, Kevin Harvick & Denny Hamlin.

The controversy lies in two races: the 1971 Myers Brothers 250 held at Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem, North Carolina; win was reawarded in 2024), and the 1973 National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Due to reduced sponsorship money being given out by the "Big Three" automobile companies in Detroit, some Winston Cup teams chose not to enter some of the smaller prize-money races of the large 48-event season (only 14 cars entered the 1971 Space City 300), leading NASCAR to allow its "minor league" Grand American Series drivers (itself suffering from a massive decrease in events versus its 1970 season) to enter six of the Winston Cup races.

[24] For these races, Grand American Series "pony cars", such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, and AMC Javelin, were competing against the larger Grand National Series cars, featuring the Chevrolet Chevelle, Ford Torino Talladega, Dodge Charger Daytona, and Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird.

The first three cars to cross the finish line after the scheduled 334 laps (501 miles) were driven by Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and Bobby Allison, in that order.

[26] Allison also ran for his own team in 1977 after splitting with Roger Penske, with a best finish of second at Nashville.

[27] In 1985 Allison returned to being an owner-driver after leaving DiGard Motorsports, taking his number (22) and sponsor (Miller American) with him to his new team.

In 1990 Allison revived his team and was a car owner for numerous drivers, most notably Mike Alexander, Hut Stricklin, Jimmy Spencer, and Derrike Cope.

Stricklin moved to the Junior Johnson & Associates team halfway through 1992 and Raybestos left at the end of the year to the Stavola Brothers No.

[29] Allison actively promoted rail safety for the CSX "Keep on Living" campaign with appearances at Talladega and Daytona.