Allison had Petty's number at Pocono -- with help

This weekend, Denny Hamlin has the opportunity to do something only two other drivers have accomplished: win three consecutive races at Pocono. If he does so, he'll join Bobby Allison and Tim Richmond in that class. And fuel mileage, or the lack thereof, played a huge role in each of Allison's three consecutive wins.

Bobby Allison also won three in a row at Richmond in the '82 and '83 seasons.

A second Cup date at Pocono was added to the schedule in 1982, and Mother Nature wasn't particularly happy about it. One week after slogging through 600 miles in 95-degree weather at Charlotte, drivers found themselves facing cold and damp conditions in the Pennsylvania mountains. The temperature never got out of the 50s and rain and fog hampered the entire race.

With spotters unable to see the entire track because of the weather, NASCAR started the race under caution for the first 10 laps, then twice tried to go green without success. One of those starts nearly ended Allison's day, as he unintentionally locked bumpers with Dale Earnhardt.

''I'm glad it was a guy of Dale's ability,'' Allison said. ''Otherwise, we could have both been on the streets. We got hung up for a while.''

Finally the mist lifted enough to let racing begin in earnest, and Richard Petty dominated most of the first half of the race, with Allison and Cale Yarborough in close pursuit. However, Yarborough blew an engine at the halfway mark, putting him on the sidelines.

Allison's continued good fortune was then provided in a controversial way by Dave Marcis. Under another caution because of rain, Allison's car -- which was low on fuel -- began to sputter on the backstretch, more than a mile from the pits. With a few hand gestures, Marcis came to the rescue, pushing Allison around the track until he could get in for service.

''We had made some signals during a caution,'' Allison said. ''I've been pushed before, I've pushed people and they push me. I don't know how it affected our victory, but it could have.''

Marcis said he considered it a gesture of respect.

''Bobby motioned me to push him,'' Marcis said. ''I'd push Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, anybody. I would expect them to do the same for me. If we can't get along, then we don't have anything. I feel like being a gentleman to all competitors.

''I think Bobby shut it off. He had just enough gas to get the car restarted when he was fueled in the pits.''

That wasn't the case for Petty, who ran out while the race was under green and lost two laps. He eventually finished seventh.

Allison thought he had the race won when rain forced NASCAR officials to put out the red flag for 28 minutes. Instead, conditions improved slightly. When it resumed, Richmond -- who hadn't won to that point -- took command. But when he stopped with 30 laps to go for fuel and tires, Allison went back to the point, and this time, saved enough fuel to make it to the end.

Richmond was the only other car on the lead lap at the conclusion, as Benny Parsons, Harry Gant and Terry Labonte -- all one lap down -- rounded out the top five.

Fuel economy was once more a major factor when the series returned seven weeks later, and again, Allison benefitted while Petty fumed.

The second half of the July race turned into a three-car battle between Petty, Allison and Darrell Waltrip, with Petty holding the advantage. But while Petty and Waltrip raced each other at the front of the pack, Allison laid back and conserved fuel.

''I played it cool during the last 40 laps,'' Allison said. ''My crew chief, Gary Nelson, radioed me that whoever was leading the race was going to run out of fuel. He asked me to play it conservatively and just follow the leaders.

''I had to be patient the last 100 miles. Gary had convinced me that the leaders would use a lot more gas than me and you've to trust your pit crew.''

The strategy began to pay off, as Petty slowed with six laps remaining and had to duck onto pit road for a splash of fuel, handing the lead to Waltrip. Three laps later, Waltrip's car sputtered and he surrendered the lead to Allison, who eventually recorded a 17-second margin of victory in front of Petty.

''I made up my mind that I'd make my move on Darrell with four laps to go because I felt we had the equipment to catch him,'' Allison said. ''Full consumption was not on my mind at this time because I had saved a few gallons by not challenging for the lead over the previous 50 miles. I'm sure we had a cup or two left over when we finished.''

Waltrip finished the race by being pushed across the line by another car, and was dropped to sixth in the running order.

The race was marred by a frightening accident between Earnhardt and Richmond in which the two slammed into the outer wall, with Earnhardt's car then skidding upside down for some 500 feet. The race was run under caution for nearly an hour while safety crews repaired the resulting damage.

Petty's fuel frustrations at Pocono continued in 1983, as the race came down to another showdown between Allison and Petty. Petty had been shadowing Allison in the final green-flag run, and knew both cars couldn't make it to the checkered without stopping.

But Petty gambled one lap too many. When he pitted first on Lap 191, the tank was nearly dry and his car refused to refire. When Petty finally returned to the track, he was in third place behind Allison and Waltrip. Given that cushion, Allison's splash-and-go with five laps remaining was more than enough to hold off Waltrip by more than nine seconds.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.