A decade later, Allison still fondly remembered

McReynolds, Yates still have trouble talking about departed friend

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since David Carl Allison left this earth.

For Larry McReynolds and Robert Yates, the decade has flown by when the subject of Davey Allison is not on their minds.

When he is on their minds, time stands still.

A lot has changed for both men since July 13, 1993, when Allison died, just a day after crashing his helicopter at Talladega Superspeedway.

Robert Yates, Allison's team owner on the famed No. 28 Ford, moved on. So did McReynolds, Allison's crew chief.

They had to. But it was certainly not easy. Even now -- 3,652 days later -- it's still a difficult subject for both men to talk about.

	Yates says confidently that if he were still alive, Davey Allison would still be in the RYR stable today.

"We miss him a lot," said Yates. "He made such a statement that 10 years have gone by, and he hasn't been forgotten at all."

"My relationship with Davey was so far beyond the driver-crew chief (relationship)," said McReynolds, an analyst on FOX since 2001. "It didn't even dawn on me that it had been 10 years until they sat me down at Charlotte and did some TV stuff based on it.

"I knew the day, I knew the date, I knew the year, but it had not sunk in that it had been 10 years. It's very hard to believe."

Allison enjoyed only six full-time seasons in the Winston Cup Series, but during that span, he:

Yates had built his team around Allison -- mortgaging virtually everything he owned -- and Allison didn't let him down. When Allison died in 1993, Yates had a hard time going back to the track, especially with the same black-and-red paint scheme.

"I struggled even right after Davey died, struggled going back to the track with the car. There were thoughts constantly about what we should do (and) quite mixed emotions whether we should or shouldn't."

'Davey was on track to win some championships'

Both Yates and McReynolds are adamant that Allison, only 32 when he died, was on the verge of winning multiple Winston Cup titles.

Allison had come tantalizingly close in 1992 -- he finished only 63 points behind champion Alan Kulwicki after a stunning season finale at Atlanta.

	Allison won 19 races in his six-year Winston Cup career.

"The biggest thing I reflect back on -- and there's no way to predict what would have happened, but I say this with a lot of confidence -- there's people that have championships that probably wouldn't have championships had Davey not been killed," said McReynolds.

"He would have won some championships. That is not to take anything away from them. Davey was on track to win some championships."

Yates eventually did win a championship, but not until 1999, when Dale Jarrett took the title in his fourth season in the No. 88 Ford. Yates started a second team just over two years after Allison's death.

Allison was so young when he died -- 32 -- that he would probably still be in the prime of his career today.

"I think he would still be a big part of our business," said Yates. "There's never been a thought in my mind that he would have gone to great heights and bailed on me. I think we'd still be working together.

"We liked each other and the way we raced. I think he would still be driving the 28 car and still be sponsored by whomever bought Texaco/Chevron."

	Yates (right) said he originally wanted to discontinue the No. 28 car after Allison's death.

Yates' longtime sponsor, Texaco/Chevron, left after 2002 and went to Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 entry. With that part of his team gone, Yates renumbered his flagship team to the No. 38, now driven by Elliott Sadler.

"I wanted to pack the 28 up and keep it as Davey's car," Yates said. "I am happy we packaged that 10 years up and it's Davey's car.

"No one has been able to take that car to heights greater than Davey. We could say he was the premier driver of that 28 car."

Two stories

A couple of recollections from McReynolds and Yates really embody Davey Alllison's memory.

McReynolds:

We have a playhouse that my little girl Brooke has. She is 14 years old now, and she had it when she was two or three.

Check these out  •  Families of NASCAR: The Allisons  •  NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers: Davey Allison  •  Know Your NASCAR: History

We won't get rid of it because Davey helped put it together. I can still see Davey crawling around our living room floor.

"Playing with Brooke in that playhouse, I can still see Davey's head sticking out of that playhouse. We won't get rid of it mainly for that reason. For a few years, that day (July 13) was tough."

Yates:

"I get cards. I am not at a computer every day, but we still get people (writing e-mails and cards) from around the country. It's still good that it's still mentioned, that the younger generation knows that (he) was a superstar.

"I was getting my hair cut and (I was talking to) a guy who had never been to a race in his life, but they all knew Davey Allison.

"There are three people that people know: Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt (and Allison). If I try to explain to people who I am, I say, 'Well, Davey Allison used to drive for me.' And they will say, 'Yeah, I remember him.'

"I will use that to let people know what I do. They will say, 'I have heard of Davey Allison, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.'"