<Archive Obituary> Davey Allison (July 13th 1993)
Bill Schenley
Tragic Story Of Allison's Gets Another Chapter
When Davey Allison, 32, Dies After Helicopter Crash
Photo:
http://www.irocracing.com/History/1993/images/1993%20DAVEY%20ALLISON.jpg
FROM: The Los Angeles Times (July 14th 1993) ~
By Shav Glick, Staff Writer
For the second time in less than four months, NASCAR
lost one of its most prominent drivers when Davey Allison
died early Tuesday morning of injuries he had suffered in a
helicopter crash Monday afternoon at Talladega
Superspeedway.
Allison never regained consciousness after the
accident and was pronounced dead of massive head injuries at
7 a.m. CDT in the Carraway Methodist Medical Center at
Birmingham, Ala.
Alan Kulwicki, who won the Winston Cup stock car
championship last year after a tense battle with Allison and
Bill Elliott, was killed April 1 when a small plane in which
he was flying crashed in a field near Bristol, Tenn.
"We fly so much, between races, personal appearances
and testing, that it's a wonder it hasn't happened before,"
said one driver, asking that his name not be used. "After
Alan died, some of the fellows were saying that the odds
were going to catch up with some of the rest of us one of
these days. We never thought it would happen this soon. And
not to Davey."
Allison, 32, who had been flying airplanes for nearly
10 years and helicopters for a little more than a year, was
trying to land in the infield at Talladega when the accident
occurred. The only passenger was Red Farmer, a former racer
and crew chief for Allison's Busch Grand National team.
Farmer, who was hospitalized with broken ribs and
collarbone, told the Birmingham News that he yelled at
Allison, "Davey, let's get out of here, the motor's still
running," but Allison did not reply.
"Davey was hanging upside down, but I couldn't undo
his seat belts because he'd fall on me. I knocked the glass
out and crawled out," Farmer said.
Earlier reports indicated that Allison was trying to
land when his rotor hit a fence, throwing the machine into
the ground.
However, Roff Sasser, a National Transportation Safety
Board inspector, told the Associated Press a different story
after investigating the crash. Sasser said there was no sign
of mechanical failure and no indication that the chopper hit
a fence before crashing.
After interviewing 10 people who witnessed all or part
of the crash, Sasser said that Allison tried to land in a
small, fence-enclosed parking lot directly behind the
infield media center. The helicopter came within a foot of
touching down when it suddenly shot back up 25 feet, began
oscillating and then spinning before plummeting to the
ground on its left side, where Allison was sitting.
Allison bought the helicopter three weeks ago, and a
construction crew was at work on his Hueytown, Ala.,
property, installing a landing pad when the accident
occurred.
"He loved to fly," said H.A. (Humpy) Wheeler,
president of Charlotte Motor Speedway and a close friend of
the Allison family. "It was an addiction to Davey."
Condolences poured in to Hueytown, where Davey lived
with his wife, Liz, and their two small children, and where
Davey's parents, Bobby and Judy Allison, live. His was the
second violent death in the Allison family in less than a
year.
Clifford Allison, Davey's younger brother, was killed
in a racing accident last July 19 at Michigan International
Raceway.
"All of us at NASCAR are shocked and saddened at this
tragedy," said Bill France Jr., NASCAR president. "Davey
Allison grew up in this sport and, from a small child into
adulthood, dedicated his life to it.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to Liz and the
children, to Bobby and Judy, and to the entire Allison
family. We feel like we've lost a son and lost a brother
ourselves. This is a tremendous loss, not only for motor
sports but for everyone whose lives have been touched by
Davey Allison.
"He was a great driver. He was a great competitor.
Still, I think he will be most remembered as a great
husband, a great father and a great friend. We will all miss
him greatly."
Allison and Farmer had flown the 50 miles from
Birmingham to watch a friend, David Bonnett, test a Busch
Grand National car for a coming race at Talladega. The
Bonnetts, with the Allisons and Farmer, formed "the Alabama
Gang" in stock car racing.
Many stores in Hueytown displayed banners in tribute
to Allison, among them, "We'll Miss You Davey -- No. 28,"
and, "The Winner's Circle of Peace Belongs to Davey."
The deaths of Allison and Kulwicki were the latest in
a series of fatalities involving racing personnel in aerial
accidents.
Kulwicki had been at an autograph session for his
racing sponsor in Knoxville, Tenn., and was headed for a
race at Bristol when he crashed several miles short of the
airfield. Three others were killed in that accident.
On that same day, Chip Mead, a former Indy car and
sports car driver from Saratoga, Calif., was killed, along
with three passengers, when his rented light plane crashed
near Livermore. Mead, 46, was an experienced flyer who owned
a San Jose aircraft-sales firm.
Wilbur Shaw, three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500
and president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was the first
famous driver to lose his life in a plane. Shaw was killed
Oct. 30, 1954, when a plane in which he was flying crashed
during a snowstorm in a cornfield near Decatur, Ind. Shaw,
who had been a pilot and flying instructor for 25 years, was
a passenger at the time of the accident -- one day before
his 52nd birthday.
Curtis Turner, who built a reputation as a flying
daredevil as well as one of stock car racing's pioneer
champions in the 1950s and early 1960s, was killed when his
plane hit a mountainside in western Pennsylvania on Oct. 4,
1970. Tales of Turner's flying beneath bridges, landing on
city streets or golf courses and picking up friends in front
of their houses were part or early stock car racing lore.
Graham Hill, world Formula One champion and
Indianapolis 500 winner, was killed only two months after
retiring when he tried to land his plane on a London golf
course in thick fog on Nov. 26, 1975. Killed along with him
were Tony Brise, his Formula One protege and one of the most
promising young drivers of the time, and four members of
Hill's crew.
Al Holbert, a three-time IMSA sports car champion and
three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was killed
Sept. 30, 1988, when his plane crashed shortly after takeoff
near Columbus, Ohio. Holbert, who had been at a weekend
sports car race, was headed back to his home in Warrington,
Pa., where he was overseeing the Porsche Indy car program.
Eight officials of the United States Auto Club
perished April 23, 1978, when their twin-engine plane
crashed in a storm near Arlington, Ind. They were returning
to their Indianapolis headquarters from a race in Trenton,
N.J. Those killed included Ray Marquette, Frank DelRoy, Don
Peabody, Stan Worley, Shim Malone, Dr. Bruce White, Ross
Teeguarden and Judy Phillips.
Nearly every regular driver on the Winston Cup circuit
flies by private aircraft, although only a few -- notably
Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd -- are pilots.
"Most of the guys fly in team planes, or have their
own personal pilot for their plane," said Tom Roberts,
former business manager for Bobby Allison who now works with
Wallace.
"Rusty (Wallace) and I often fly in choppers because
it's such a quick way out of a race track when it's crowded.
Rusty has his own planes, but 95% of the time he has another
pilot with him, an experienced one.
"Davey is the only one I know who had his own chopper.
David Pearson (former Winston Cup champion, now retired)
pioneered the use of helicopters, but most of the guys stuck
with small planes."
Two of Davey Allison's biggest disappointments were
losing the 1988 Daytona 500 to his father and losing the
Winston Cup championship last year to Kulwicki after having
led the standings going into the final race.
"Davey was very philosophical and very compassionate
about both losses," recalled Ty Norris, Winston Cup
representative for NASCAR. "He told me that he wanted to win
Daytona that day as bad as anything he had ever wanted, but
later, after Bobby was hurt at Pocono, he said maybe it was
for the best that his father had won -- that it was supposed
to be, that he should win before having his career end. He
said he'd have plenty of chances to win for himself."
The elder Allison suffered massive head injuries in a
crash that ended his competitive career in July 1988. He has
returned as a car owner.
Davey Allison fulfilled his prophecy when he won the
Daytona 500 in 1992.
"Then last year, after he lost to Kulwicki, he said it
was a devastating feeling," Norris added. "But later, after
Alan was killed, he said the same thing he had said about
Bobby -- that maybe it was for the best. He told me, 'I
wouldn't change a thing. This way, Alan went out a champion,
and I have plenty of years ahead of me.' "
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Photo:
http://www.nascartrack.com/NASCAR_DRIVERS/DaveyAllison/DaveyAllison.jpg
Davey Allison in art:
http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1998/Davey_Allison_400.jpg
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Davey Allison's NASCAR Career
Highlights of the NASCAR career of driver Davey
Allison, who died Tuesday from injuries suffered in a
helicopter crash at the Talladega Superspeedway on Monday:
1993 NASCAR ranking: Fifth.
Top Winston Cup seasons: Third, 1991 and 1992
Car: Ford Thunderbird owned by Robert Yates.
Winston Cup debut: Talladega, 1985.
First victory: Winston 500, Talladega, 1987.
Career victories: 19 in 191 starts, including 1992
Daytona 500, three Winston 500s and 1991 Coca-Cola 600.
Earnings: $6,726,974, 10th all-time.
Best year: 1992, tied career-high by winning five
races and earned a career-best $1,955,628.
1993 victories: Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond.
Most recent finish: Third, July 11, Slick 50 300 in
Loudon, N.H.
Rookie of the year: 1987, won two races and became
first rookie to sit on front row at Daytona 500 with lap
faster than 209 m.p.h.
Aircraft Crash Deaths
A list of athletes, coaches and officials who died in
aircraft crashes:
Oct. 18, 1925 -- Marvin Goodwin, Cincinnati Red
pitcher, in Houston.
March 31, 1931 -- Notre Dame football coach Knute
Rockne in Kansas.
May 4, 1949 -- 22 members of Torino, the Italian
soccer champions, in Turin, Italy.
Oct. 27, 1949 -- Marcel Cerdan former world
middleweight champion en route to fight Jake LaMotta in
Spain.
July 1, 1954 -- John McBride, Alabama halfback, killed
in ROTC training flight in Texas.
Oct. 30, 1954 -- Wilbur Shaw, President of
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Decatur, Ind.
Sept. 20, 1956 -- Tom Gastall, Baltimore Oriole
catcher, in Maryland.
Nov. 27, 1956 -- Charlie Peete, St. Louis Cardinal
outfielder, in Venezuela.
Feb. 6, 1958 -- Eight members of the English soccer
champion Manchester United, in Munich.
Aug. 14, 1958 -- Six members of the Egyptian fencing
team, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Oct., 1958 -- Philip Scrutton, British Walker Cup
golfer.
Dec. 14, 1958 -- Blaine Staats, a sophomore tackle for
West Virginia, in Waynesburg, Pa.
April 29, 1959 -- Joaquin Blume, Spain's European
gymnastics champion, in Madrid.
Oct. 10, 1960 -- 16 members of the Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo football team, in Toledo, Ohio.
Feb. 16, 1961 -- 18 members of the U.S. figure skating
team, in Belgium.
April 3, 1961 -- Green Cross, a first-division Chilean
soccer team, in the Las Lastimas Mountains.
March 1, 1962 -- Johnny Dieckman, world fly-casting
champion, in Chicago.
April 12, 1962 -- Roon Flockhart, Scottish racing
driver, in Melbourne.
Feb. 15, 1964 -- Ken Hubbs, 22, Chicago Cub second
baseman, in Utah.
July 24, 1966 -- Tony Lema, 1964 British Open
champion, in Munster, Ind.
April 28, 1968 -- Six members of the Lamar Tech track
team, in Beaumont, Texas.
Aug. 31, 1969 -- Rocky Marciano, retired undefeated
heavyweight champion, in Newton, Iowa.
Sept. 26, 1969 -- 25 members of Bolivian soccer team
"The Strongest," in the Andes.
Oct. 2, 1970 -- 14 Wichita State football players, in
Colorado.
Nov. 14, 1970 -- 37 Marshall University football
players, in Huntington, W.Va.
Nov. 13, 1971 -- Bill Hannah, Dallas Moon and Joe
O'Hara, Cal State Fullerton assistant football coaches, near
Santa Barbara.
Oct. 11, 1972 -- 30 members of a Uruguayan rugby club,
in Chile.
Dec. 31, 1972 -- Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirate
outfielder, from San Juan, Puerto Rico en route to Nicaragua
to aid earthquake victims.
June 24, 1975 -- Wendell Ladner, New York Nets
forward, in New York.
Dec. 13, 1977 -- 14 University of Evansville
basketball players and coach Bobby Watson in Evansville,
Ind.
Aug. 2, 1979 -- Thurman Munson, New York Yankee
catcher, in Canton, Ohio.
March 14, 1980 -- 14 members of the U.S. amateur
boxing team in Warsaw, Poland.
Aug. 16, 1987 -- Phoenix Suns center Nick Vanos in
Romulus, Mich.
Dec. 8, 1987 -- 17 players of the Alianza Peruvian
first-division soccer team in Lima, Peru.
July 19, 1989 -- Jay Ramsdell, Continental Basketball
Assn. commissioner, in Sioux City, Iowa.
April 1, 1993 -- Alan Kulwicki, NASCAR's 1992
champion, in Blountville, Tenn.
April 28, 1993 -- 18 players and five team officials
of Zambia's national soccer team in Libreville, Gabon.
July 13, 1993 -- NASCAR driver Davey Allison in
Birmingham, Ala., the day after a helicopter he was piloting
crashed on the infield at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Photo: http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/photos/daveys_blk_car.jpg