Davey Allison: Encyclopedia II - Davey Allison - 1992 - Triumph and Tragedy

Davey Allison - 1992 - Triumph and Tragedy

Statistially, 1992 was Davey Allison's best season in Winston Cup racing. But it was also a very painful and heartwrenching season. Davey started sixth in the Daytona 500 but was probably not quite as fast as the Junior Johnson teammates of Bill Elliott and Sterling Marlin. But the race would change dramatically on lap 92 when Elliott, Marlin, and Ernie Irvan triggered a multi-car crash at the front of the pack. Fourteen cars were eliminated, but Allison somehow made it through the mess. He would lead 127 laps to join his father as a Daytona 500 winner.

Bill Elliott would rebound to win the next four events, but Allison was not far behind in either event, posting four top-five finishes to maintain his lead in the points. A hard crash at Bristol left him with a bruised shoulder, but the following weekend he won at North Wilkesboro. Another hard crash at Martinsville left him with broken ribs, but Allison rebounded yet again, leading a contingent of Fords to victory in the Winston 500 at Talladega, his third win in that race. The win also put him in position to win the Winston Million if he could win either the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, or the Southern 500 at Darlington.

Next up was The Winston all-star race. One year removed from his domination of that event and the Coca-Cola 600, Davey was ready to take the spotlight again. But this time around, there was more focus on the event itself. Over the winter, the Musco Lighting company had installed a state-of-the-art lighting system at then Charlotte Motor Speedway. Billed as "One Hot Night" by The Nashville Network, which was to broadcast the event, The Winston was the first ever superspeedway race to be held under the lights. Davey would drive the same car that he used to dominate the event one year earlier, affectionately known as "007".

In the final, 10-lap segment of the race, Dale Earnhardt led, followed by Kyle Petty and Davey. In the third turn on the final lap, Petty nudged Earnhardt's car and the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet spun. Davey took advantage of the contact and jumped into the lead. But Petty charged back and as Davey crossed the start-finish line to win the race, the two cars came together, sending the driver's side of Davey's car hard into the outside wall in a shower of sparks. An unconscious Allison was taken from his car and airlifted to a Charlotte hospital. The crash left him with a concussion, bruised lung, and a battered and bruised body. His car, "007", was totaled.

The wreck didn't deter Allison. He finished fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 the following week despite the injuries and maintained his points lead. He then finished 11th at Dover, 28th at Sears Point, and fifth at Pocono. Still hanging onto the points lead and his body healing, Davey won the pole and dominated the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan, leading 158 of the race's 200 laps. The first half of the season ended with Davey posting a 10th place finish in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. At the halfway point of the season, Allison had a 46 point lead over second place Bill Elliott and a 134 point lead over third place Alan Kulwicki, and had held the points lead since the first race of the season, despite the injuries and setbacks.

That would all change as the series went back to Pocono. Davey won the pole for the event and led 115 of the first 149 laps. But a lengthy pit stop during a caution flag sent him to the middle of the pack. On lap 150, Allison was charging back through the pack and was attempting to pass Darrell Waltrip. The two cars made contact and Davey went sliding into the grass off Pocono's "tunnel turn". The car went airborne and began a series of violent flips. Miraculously, Davey survived the crash. He was airlifted to the hospital with a severe concussion, along with a broken arm, wrist, and collar bone. His 33rd place finish left him nine points behind Bill Elliott for the series title, but that seemed insignificant at the moment.

Davey arrived at Talladega the following week wearing dark shades to hide eyes severely bruised in the Pocono crash. His arm was in a cast that allowed him to drive, but Bobby Hillin, Jr. would relieve Davey after the initial laps of the DieHard 500. Hillin drove the #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford to a third place finish at Talladega, helping Davey and the team keep pace with Elliott. The following week, veteran road racer Dorsey Schroeder would relieve Allison, but he could only manage a 20th place finish.

With his body healed enough to allow him to drive an entire race, Davey headed to Michigan where he had dominated the track's earlier event. But tragedy struck as the Michigan events began. While practicing for the weekend's Busch Series race, Davey's younger brother, Clifford Allison crashed hard in the third and fourth turns of Michigan International Speedway. He would die enroute to the hospital. Heartbroken, Davey drove to a fifth place finish in the Champion Spark Plug 400, then went home to Hueytown for Clifford's funeral. The following weekend, Davey crashed again at Bristol, finishing 30th. Though still in second place in the Winston Cup standings, he now trailed leader Bill Elliott by 109 points.

Davey's chance to win the Winston Million was up next as the series headed to Darlington for the Southern 500. Davey led 72 laps of the event and was in contention to win, but soon after the leaders pitted for tires and fuel, rain halted the race with 69 laps left. Darrell Waltrip, gambling that the rains would come, did not pit and was leading the race when it was red flagged. He was declared the winner as darkness fell and the rains continued. Davey finished fifth and was now 119 points behind Elliott, who finished third.

Allison and Elliott continued their drive for the championship after Darlington as the two kept pace with each other. But beginning with the Goody's 500 at Martinsville on September 28, Elliott's hold on the points lead began to slip. He finished 30th in that event while Allison finished 16th. Then at North Wilkesboro, Allison posted an 11th place finish, while Elliott finished 26th. Back at Charlotte, Allison finished a disappointing 19th, but Elliott finished 30th and there were now four drivers within 100 points of Elliott...Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, and Harry Gant. Martin and Kulwicki finished first and second respectively at Charlotte, and Kulwicki was continuing a late season charge. Three races prior to Charlotte, Kulwicki had crashed and finished 34th at Dover leaving him 278 points behind Elliott and in fourth place in the standings.

Elliott's skid stopped temporarily at Rockingham where he finished fourth. Davey finished 10th and Kulwicki 12th and entering the final two races of the 1992 season, Davey was 70 points behind Elliott in second, with Kulwicki 85 points behind in third. But Davey's fortunes changed dramatically at Phoenix as he won the event, and Elliott finished 31st. Davey now had the points lead for the first time since his violent Pocono crash, and was 30 points ahead of Kulwicki, and 40 ahead of Elliott, who had slipped to third in the standings. Also in contention to win the championship as the series moved to the final race at Atlanta were Harry Gant (fourth place, 97 points behind), Kyle Petty (fifth place, 98 points behind), and Mark Martin (sixth place, 113 points behind).

The 1992 Hooters 500 would be a milestone race in NASCAR Winston Cup history. It would be the final race of Richard Petty's career, as well as the first for future Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon. Couple that with the closest championship race in history, and the race was destined to be a classic. Davey Allison entered the race needing only to finish fifth or better to win the Winston Cup. A first lap incident involving Rick Mast caused minor damage to Davey's car, and he battled through much of the race to stay in the top ten. Meanwhile, Elliott and Kulwicki were staging a battle for the ages. Late in the race, Davey had finally managed to reach the top five and was in position to win the championship when Ernie Irvan lost control of his car on the frontstretch on lap 286. Davey couldn't avoid Irvan's spinning car an plowed into the #4 Kodak Chevrolet. Allison's tumultuous 1992 season was over, his championship hopes lost as Elliott and Kulwicki finished first and second in the race respectively. Kulwicki, an independent driver who had turned down offers to drive for other teams, including Junior Johnson, won the championship by leading one more lap than Elliott (103 to 102).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "1992 - Triumph and Tragedy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki