1988: Father before son

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If youth was going to be served in the 30th annual Daytona 500, Bobby Allison wanted to make sure that the kid knew exactly what was on the menu.

KNOW YOUR NASCAR  •  1988 Season Recap  •  NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers: Bobby Allison  •  More NASCAR History    1988 Daytona 500 Top 10  1. Bobby Allison  2. Davey Allison  3. Phil Parsons  4. Neil Bonnett  5. Terry Labonte  6. Ken Schrader  7. Rusty Wallace  8. Sterling Marlin  9. Buddy Baker  10. Dale Earnhardt

With son Davey's Ford snapping at his Buick's bumper on the final lap, Bobby kept his foot firmly on the accelerator, pulling away at the line for a two-car length victory, making the 50-year-old veteran the oldest driver to win the 500.

"Since I was a kid, I've dreamed about battling to the wire, finishing 1-2 with my dad," Davey Allison said. "The only difference was, I wanted him to finish second."

"I saw the nose of Davey's car coming up, out of the corner of my eye," Bobby Allison said. "But I felt I had the horsepower to beat him."

Unlike wreck-filled finishes in 1976 and 1979, both Allisons knew this would be a clean run to the finish.

"I've worked for this guy all my life," Davey said. "At the finish today, I knew he'd make it awful tough on me, but I also knew he wouldn't wreck me."

"When I'm racing against the best youngster who's ever come along, I couldn't do that to him," Bobby responded.

Phil Parsons, Neil Bonnett and Terry Labonte rounded out the top five.

The race became an Allison vs. Allison battle only after the engine in Darrell Waltrip's Chevrolet went sour with 14 laps remaining. Waltrip had led 69 laps, second only to Bobby Allison's 70.

"This is the best car I've ever had anywhere in my whole life, bar none," a heartbroken Waltrip said. "It was really tough those last 10 laps, watching people I'd beaten all day pass me. Bobby and Davey just had it going their way, but I still think I could have beaten them if I hadn't had that problem."

The race was marred by a horrifying crash involving Richard Petty. Petty's No. 43 turned sideways coming out of Turn 4, lifted off the ground, spun wildly on its nose while airborne, tore down a section of the catch fence, then barrel-rolled several times down the front straight before coming to a stop. At that point, the car was hit broadside by the cars of A.J. Foyt and Brett Bodine and sheared nearly in half.

Amazingly, Petty escaped without serious injury.

"I closed my eyes, held my breath and then everything went black," Petty said. "I guess I blacked out. Then they tried to tell me my leg was broken. I told 'em it wasn't. If it was broken, I think I would know."

The 40-minute caution needed to repair the fence after Petty's wild ride brought the average speed of the race down to 137.531 mph.

Brett Bodine, involved in the Petty incident, finished 35th in his first 500, while Dale Jarrett completed all 200 laps and recorded a 16th-place finish.

NOTE: This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.