| Donnie Allison | |
| Birth Date: | 7 September 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Achievements: | 1970 World 600 Winner 1971 Winston 500 Winner 1970 Firecracker 400 Winner 1975 Snowball Derby winner |
| Awards: | 1967 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year 1970 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2009) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2024) |
| Total Cup Races: | 242 |
| Years In Cup: | 20 |
| Best Cup Pos: | 16th (1967) |
| First Cup Race: | 1966 National 500 (Charlotte) |
| Last Cup Race: | 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) |
| First Cup Win: | 1968 Carolina 500 (Rockingham) |
| Last Cup Win: | 1978 Dixie 500 (Atlanta) |
| Cup Wins: | 10 |
| Cup Top Tens: | 115 |
| Cup Poles: | 18 |
| Total Busch Races: | 20 |
| Years In Busch: | 5 |
| Best Busch Pos: | 34th (1987) |
| First Busch Race: | 1984 Miller Time 300 (Charlotte) |
| Last Busch Race: | 1989 Goody's 300 (Daytona) |
| Busch Wins: | 0 |
| Busch Top Tens: | 5 |
| Busch Poles: | 0 |
| Total Gneast Races: | 2 |
| Years In Gneast: | 1 |
| First Gneast Race: | 1972 Mr. D's 200 (Nashville) |
| Last Gneast Race: | 1972 Mountaineer 300 (West Virginia) |
| Gneast Wins: | 0 |
| Gneast Top Tens: | 0 |
| Gneast Poles: | 0 |
| Updated: | February 28, 2013 |
Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison and Clifford Allison. He was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 19, 2024.
Before racing in the Grand National Series, Allison, like his brother Bobby, drove modified stock cars.[1] Allison managed to get ten wins in NASCAR Cup Series competition with his first coming at the 1968 Carolina 500 at Rockingham Speedway and his final coming at the 1978 Dixie 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Allison would suffer serious injuries at the 1981 Coca-Cola 600,[2] [3] this would end his career in NASCAR for the most part.[4] Allison would only race fourteen more Winston Cup races (he would also fail to qualify four times for races during this time) from 1982 to 1988. Allison also won the 1967 NASCAR Grand National Rookie of the Year.
Allison is perhaps best remembered for his involvement in a final-lap crash and a subsequent fight with Cale Yarborough in the 1979 Daytona 500. He was leading the race on the final lap with Yarborough drafting him tightly. As Yarborough started to go below Allison, he attempted to take the inside lane away but Yarborough hit Allison from behind first and got Allison sideways. Yarborough made contact with the side of Allison's car and it put him in the grass. He came back to hit Allison side to side and as both drivers tried to regain control, their cars made contact several times and finally locked together and crashed into the outside wall in turn 3. After the cars settled in the infield grass, Allison and Yarborough were in a heated conversation when, Bobby Allison, who finished laps down after his earlier collision with his brother, pulled over and to check on his brother, but Yarborough accused him of causing the accident and started to hit Bobby while Bobby was still in his car. At that point, a fight ensued.[5] As the 1979 Daytona 500 was the first live flag-to-flag nationally televised NASCAR race, the finish and the post-race squabble were a ratings dream for CBS. Richard Petty, who was over half a lap behind at the time of the crash, went on to win the race. The fight made headlines all across America. The publicity was instrumental in the growth of NASCAR.
Allison first raced in the USAC Championship Car Series in 1970. Driving the No. 83 Greer Eagle 67-Offenhauser for Ansted-Thompson Racing in the 1970 Indianapolis 500, he finished 4th and won the 1970 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award. He would have finished 20th in points, but because he was using a NASCAR license, he was ineligible for points. For the 1971 Allison drove the No. 84 Purolator Filters Coyote-Ford V8, finishing 6th in the Indianapolis 500. He also raced in the Rex Mays 150 at Milwaukee State Fairgrounds Speedway, the Schaefer 500 at Pocono International Raceway, and the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway, retiring from both. Allison was again ineligible for points.
Allison, who lives in Alabama and North Carolina, has been a television and radio commentator; has also been involved in his sons' Ronald, Donald and Kenny Allison's "Allison Brothers Race Cars" and the "Allison Legacy Race Series" as a consultant to the series and to many up and coming race drivers such as Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith, John Hunter Nemechek and several others [7] [8]
(key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Robert Harper | 44 | align=center style="background:#DFFFDF;" | 11 | ||
| 1968 | Holman-Moody | Ford | 7 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 40 | |
| 1969 | Matthews Racing | 7 | align=center style="background:#DFDFDF;" | 3 | ||
| 1970 | 7 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 35 | |||
| 1971 | 11 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 26 | |||
| 1973 | DiGard Motorsports | DNQ | ||||
| 1974 | 7 | align=center style="background:#FFDF9F;" | 6 | |||
| 1975 | align=center style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 1 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 28 | ||
| 1977 | align=center style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 1 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 30 | ||
| 1978 | Oldsmobile | 7 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 39 | ||
| 1979 | 2 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 4 | |||
| 1980 | 2 | align=center style="background:#FFDF9F;" | 7 | |||
| 1981 | Oldsmobile | 33 | align=center style="background:#DFFFDF;" | 12 | ||
| 1982 | Ogden Racing | 29 | align=center style="background:#EFCFFF;" | 34 | ||
| 1987 | DNQ | |||||
| 1988 | AAG Racing | DNQ |
| NASCAR Busch Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | Pts | Ref | |||||
| 1984 | A.G. Dillard Motorsports | 22 | Olds | DAY | RCH | CAR | HCY | MAR | DAR | ROU | NSV | LGY | MLW | DOV | CLT | SBO | HCY | ROU | SBO | ROU | HCY | IRP | LGY | SBO | BRI | DAR | RCH | NWS | CLT 8 | HCY | CAR | MAR | 72nd | 142 | [37] | ||||||
| 1986 | 23 | Buick | DAY 5 | CAR | HCY | MAR | BRI | DAR 9 | SBO | LGY | JFC | DOV | CLT 40 | SBO | HCY | ROU | IRP | SBO | RAL | OXF | SBO | HCY | LGY | ROU | BRI | DAR 35 | RCH | DOV | MAR | ROU | CLT 11 | CAR 30 | MAR | 38th | 597 | [38] | |||||
| 1987 | DAY 21 | HCY | MAR 9 | DAR 29 | BRI 28 | LGY | SBO | CLT 29 | DOV | IRP 16 | ROU | JFC | OXF | SBO | HCY | RAL | LGY | ROU | BRI | JFC | DAR 34 | RCH | DOV | MAR 15 | CLT 12 | CAR 7 | MAR | 34th | 957 | [39] | |||||||||||
| 1988 | DAY 23 | HCY | CAR | MAR | DAR | BRI | LNG | NZH | SBO | NSV | CLT 13 | DOV | ROU | LAN | LVL | MYB | OXF | SBO | HCY | LNG | IRP | ROU | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | CLT DNQ | CAR | MAR | 63rd | 218 | [40] | ||||||||
| DAY 37 | CAR | MAR | HCY | DAR | BRI | NZH | SBO | LAN | NSV | CLT | DOV | ROU | LVL | VOL | MYB | SBO | HCY | DUB | IRP | ROU | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | CLT | CAR | MAR | 94th | 52 | [41] | ||||||||||
(key) (
Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)| International Race of Champions results | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Make | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | 1 | 2 | Pos. | Pts | Ref |
| 1978–79 | Chevy | MCH 3 | MCH | RSD | RSD 10 | ATL 11 | 10th | NA | [42] |
| 1979–80 | MCH 8 | MCH | RSD | RSD | ATL | NA | 0 | [43] | |
(key) (
Races in bold indicate pole position)| USAC Championship Car results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pts | |||||||||||
| 1970 | Foyt-Greer Racing | Eagle 67 | PHX | SON | TRE | INDY 4 | MIL | LAN | CDR | MCH | IRP | ISF | MIL | ONT | DSF | INF | SED | TRE | SAC | PHX | 20th | 600 | |||||||||||
| 1971 | Foyt-Greer Racing | Coyote 71 | RAF | RAF | PHX | TRE | INDY 6 | POC 28 | MCH | MIL | ONT 24 | TRE | PHX | NC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coyote 69 | MIL 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Eagle | Ford | 20 | align=center style="background:#DFFFDF;" | 4 | Foyt-Greer Racing | |
| 1971 | Coyote | Ford | 20 | align=center style="background:#CFEAFF;" | 6 | Foyt-Greer Racing |