Allison's career endures throughout the years (cont'd)

Q: What was your first Cup ride?

Allison: Well, I won some races in 1959 and 1960. Judy and I got married in February of 1960, and Judy's oldest sister's husband was a big race enthusiast from south Florida. So he decided to build a Grand National car for the 1960 season for Herb Tillman. He was a really good competitor from down there. So they built a '60 Chevy and raced it some. Then in '61, they put me in it for the Daytona 500. That was my first Grand National race.

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We worked hard and did poorly but we were there. And went to Atlanta and worked hard and did poorly but we were there, too. And then went to Charlotte and worked hard and did poorly. Finally, we said we needed to go back to the modifieds and get a little bit more experience. I had been back and forth to Alabama then, but I moved there full time then and did short-track stuff with the modifieds.

Q: When did you feel like you had made it in NASCAR?

Allison: I tried to race with Ray Fox in 1964. I had worked at [Carl] Kiekhaefer's way back in 1956 and Ray Fox was my boss then, so he gave me a chance to drive one of his Dodges at Darlington, and I did pretty good in the car. But there was someone else there who was sure he could do better and he talked his way into it and I went back to modifieds.

In 1965, I ran Riverside, Daytona and Atlanta, and a few of the other races in a car owned by a guy who was a Teamsters boss in Baton Rouge, La., by the name of Ed Grady. Ed had bought this car from Holman and Moody that was way less competitive than they expected it to be. So he parked it and a fellow named Robert Harper in Jackson, Miss., who I knew from the modified series, decided to put together an effort so we ran some Cup races for him. Then I just headed back home.

The following year, Betty Lilly had run Sam McQuagg and he had won rookie of the year for 1965. So she called me up and said, 'Sam's gone on to a factory ride and I'd like you to drive my car and see what you can do with it.' So I drove her car for six, eight, 10 races and really struggled with that. Finally she decided to let somebody else drive that car, which was a blessing for me. And I went home and built the first Chevelle.

With that car, I won the first Cup race of my career.

Q: Of all the owners you drove for, who stands out most?

Allison: Of all the owners I drove for, the one that stands out was Ralph Moody. Ralph Moody was a hero of mine, but he was also an incredibly smart setup mechanic and engineer. He was part of Holman and Moody corporation. He stuck me in a car at the end of the 1967 season and I won three out of four races and was leading the fourth race when I had a little mishap -- the engine went sour -- and wound up not winning. But I won Rockingham, the 500-lapper at Asheville-Weaverville and the 500-lapper at Macon and was leading at Montgomery when the engine went sour.

Then things changed around, and I bounced around again. In 1971, I drove the last 19 races of the season for Ralph Moody, and won nine of them.

Q: Is there a career moment that stands out?

Allison: What I should look back at with the most pride is 1988. At age 50, I won my third Daytona 500 and the best young man in racing was second to me, my son Davey. However, the crash at Pocono has totally erased that memory. I've got pictures and books and tapes, but I don't have any personal memory of that event.

If I were to pick something that I remember, my thoughts always go back to my first 500-mile win at Rockingham in 1967. Ralph Moody owned the car and Fred Lorenzen was my crew chief, and he was brilliant as far as race strategy. He really, really helped me.

Q: What do you feel has been the biggest change in the sport?

Allison: When I won my first Cup race in Oxford, Maine, in 1966, I had one paid employee with me. And I didn't have any other paid employees at home. I had some part-time help and every once in a while, I'd hire somebody on a day wage or whatever. But I won my first race with one paid employee. Today, Hendrick and Roush probably have 400.

Q: Who would you vote for the inaugural Hall of Fame class?

Allison: I'd put in Bill France, Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison.

Q: What do you think will be your legacy?

Allison: I hope that people will say I was a good competitor, that I was enthusiastic and I included a lot of people along the way in my activities. That I was good for the sport and the sport was good for me.

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