Countdown: Alabama

It's sweet home to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hank Williams saw the light in Montgomery. And Stephen Foster wrote about a fellow with a banjo on his knee.

It's the place where you either grow up hollering "Roll, Tide!" or "War Eagle!" From the warm gulf waters of Mobile Bay to hilly Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center, the Camellia State is a place where the past, present and future co-exist.

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Inside the Numbers Bobby Allison's career stats Year Races W T5 T10 1961 4 0 0 0 1965 8 0 0 3 1966 33 3 10 15 1967 45 6 21 27 1968 37 2 18 20 1969 27 5 13 15 1970 46 3 30 35 1971 42 11 27 31 1972 31 10 25 27 1973 27 2 15 16 1974 27 2 17 17 1975 19 3 10 10 1976 30 0 15 19 1977 30 0 5 15 1978 30 5 14 22 1979 31 5 18 22 1980 31 4 12 18 1981 31 5 21 26 1982 30 8 14 20 1983 30 6 18 25 1984 30 2 13 18 1985 28 0 7 11 1986 29 1 6 15 1987 29 1 4 13 1988 13 1 3 6 Totals 718 85 336 446

But when it comes to stock-car racing history, the two most important places in Alabama are Hueytown and Talladega. The first was the home of the legendary "Alabama Gang"; the second, the location of the biggest, baddest track on the Nextel Cup circuit.

Best behind the wheel

• Bobby Allison, Hueytown

The patriarch of the famous racing family, three-time Daytona 500 winner and 1983 champion Bobby Allison was born in Florida and started his racing career at Hialeah Speedway while still in high school.

In 1959, Allison, brother Donnie and friend Red Farmer went in search of tougher competition, and found it near Birmingham. They set up a shop in Hueytown, where Allison sharpened his skills as a mechanic and engine tester, in addition to his ability behind the wheel.

The Alabama Gang was formed.

The move began to pay immediate dividends. He made his Cup debut in the 1961 Daytona 500, running a Chevrolet for Ralph Stark, finishing 31st out of 58 cars.

The next season, he won a modified national championship and advanced to NASCAR's highest level to stay in 1965. The first of his 84 official victories (an 85th is in dispute) came a year later at Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway.

Allison won at least two races a season for the next 10 years, including 11 victories in 1971 and 10 more in 1972. But a miserable 1975 season led to a pair of years in which he failed to visit Victory Lane.

However, a switch to Bud Moore's Fords in 1978 paid off handsomely, as Allison snapped his winless streak with a win in the Daytona 500, one of five victories that season.

But it was a race that he did not win -- the 1979 Daytona 500 -- that cemented him as a fan favorite. In the closing laps, brother Donnie and Cale Yarborough crashed racing for the lead, and as Richard Petty took the checkered flag, Allison and Yarborough climbed from their cars and began a helmet-swinging fistfight in the muddy Daytona infield -- with Bobby coming to the aid of his younger brother.

Gradually, the Alabama Gang came to include Neil Bonnett and sons Davey and Clifford.

The pinnacle of Allison's career came in 1983, when he parlayed six wins -- including three consecutive at Darlington, Richmond and Dover -- into his only championship.

But the success of the Alabama Gang would be tempered by tragedy. Bobby Allison's career was cut short when he suffered a head injury in a 1988 crash at Pocono. A head injury also ended Donnie's career, while Clifford and Bonnett were killed in practice crashes and Davey's life was taken when his helicopter crashed in the infield at Talladega.

Other noteworthy drivers from Alabama:

• Davey Allison, Hueytown: The 1991 Daytona 500 winner had 19 career victories and nearly won the 1992 championship

• Donnie Allison, Hueytown: 10 career victories, including three in 1970 (Bristol, Charlotte, Daytona)

• Neil Bonnett, Bessemer: 18 career wins, including back-to-back victories in Charlotte's 600-mile race

• Red Byron, Anniston: The 1949 champion won on the beach course at Daytona and Martinsville

• Steve Grissom, Gadsden: 1993 Busch Series champ made 151 career Cup starts over a 10-year career

• Jimmy Means, Huntsville: In 455 career starts, his best finish was a seventh in the 1983 Winston 500 at Talladega

Former NBA star Charles Barkley's fame stretches beyond his gift of gab. Credit: John W. McDonough/SI

We wish ...

Basketball star Charles Barkley had become a NASCAR driver.

The Leeds native was the Southeastern Conference's player of the year in 1983-84 as an Auburn Tiger, was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and played 16 seasons in the NBA, averaging 22 points and nearly 12 rebounds a game.

Sir Charles, who never shied away from contact on the court, would have made an excellent short-track driver. And based on his current career as a broadcast analyst for TNT, can you imagine what outrageous things he might have said during post-race interviews?

Keeping it on track

• Talladega Superspeedway

The idea of building a bigger and faster superspeedway than Daytona came to fruition in 1969, when Alabama International Motor Speedway opened. The first race was not without controversy, as many drivers, concerned about the tire compounds at high speed, refused to race. Richard Brickhouse was one of those who stayed -- and earned his only career victory as the race was run without incident.

In 1987, Bill Elliott set a qualifying record with a lap of 212.809 mph -- and Mark Martin's winning speed of 188.354 mph in 1997 is the fastest 500-mile stock-car in history.

But it's Dale Earnhardt's name which is linked to the 2.66-mile superspeedway with its 33 degree banking. The Intimidator won 10 races there, including his final victory in 2000. Restarting in the middle of the pack with only a handful of laps remaining, Earnhardt drafted his way to the front for the win.

	ACCELERATION 2006 There's more to the new season than just driver changes. Read more about what to watch for as we rev toward Daytona.  •   Complete coverage, click here COUNTDOWN TO DAYTONA We're gearing up for Daytona by celebrating stock-car racing's history with a state-by-state look at the sport.  •   Countdown to Daytona Archive

Gone but not forgotten

• Montgomery Speedway

This half-mile hosted six Cup races from 1955 until 1968, but it saved the best for last. Hometown hero Bobby Allison edged Richard Petty by four feet to win the Alabama 200 in front of 2,800 fans.

Even though the race was held on Dec. 8, 1968, it counted as the second race of the 1969 season.

Other tracks which have hosted NASCAR races:

• Chisholm Speedway, Montgomery: Buck Baker won on the dirt half-mile in 1956

• Dixie Speedway, Birmingham: Ned Jarrett bested the field in 1960 on this dirt quarter-mile

• Fairgrounds Raceway, Birmingham: Ned Jarrett won three times there

• Huntsville Speedway, Huntsville: Richard Petty lapped the field in 1962

• Lakeview Speedway, Mobile: Tim Flock and Frank Mundy captured victories in 1951

A word from our sponsor

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