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"When my dad first hired him in 1986 and when he accepted the job, Bobby said, 'I don't think he's ready,' and Davey said, 'Well, I think I am.'"
The doubts didn't stop at the top of the family tree. Ranier said Ford had a problem with the decision to put a 25-year-old rookie in one of the top-tier rides in Winston Cup.
"They said, 'We're not sure if we can support this program with Davey Allison as the driver,'" Ranier said. "My dad said 'I've been racing longer than I've known you. You can do what you want, but this is what we're doing.'"
Ranier said Ford owned up to its mistake after Davey sat on the front row in his first Daytona 500, won two races, five poles in just 22 races.
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| The No. 28 team cheers Davey Allison on. |
"The next year at Michigan, they told us that they were wrong," Lanier said with a chuckle. "That's just the kind of driver Davey was."
Besides the enormous pressure put on a young Winston Cup driver, there was the pressure on the Raniers, who were putting together a team from scratch with a new driver and sponsor after the exit of both Hardees and the legendary Cale Yarborough after the 1986 season.
Lorin said a decision was made to "make a star" instead of getting a star, thereby creating a program that could stay competitive in Winston Cup racing for many years.
 | Check these out | | 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. |
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"Davey had so much natural talent and determination," Ranier said. "He was just 25 at the time and he already knew the cars inside and out.
"It was such a special and unique time in all of our lives," Ranier said of that first season. "He was so good and he was just on of the guys. You don't just find that every day."
These days, Lorin is a driver-development consultant and spotter for Chip Ganassi Racing. He has no doubt that Davey would have handled the changing role of the driver in Winston Cup racing without breaking a sweat.
"Guys like Ricky Rudd and Terry Labonte came around that time and they've done well," Ranier said. "Davey was his own man and he was very adaptable "
Rainer said firmly that had it not been for the plane crash that killed Davey in 1993, Labonte and Allison would have one other thing in common.
"Davey would be a multiple-time Winston Cup champion," Lorin said. "Without a doubt."
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