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Nominee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2019

Davey Allison was born with speed.

The son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison grew up more interested in football, but could not escape the racing bug, following his father into the family profession.

Born: February 25, 1961
Died: July 13, 1993
Hometown: Hueytown, Ala.

Premier Series Stats
Competed: 1985-93
Starts: 191
Wins: 19
Poles: 14

Years on Ballot: 1

The younger Allison honed his skills at local Alabama tracks, getting his big break in 1987, taking over for legendary driver Cale Yarborough in Ranier-Lundy’s Ford Thunderbird. Allison spent no time continuing the family’s legacy, compiling two wins, five poles and nine top fives in his full-season debut to capture 1987 premier series rookie of the year.

RELATED: Davey Allison’s career stats | Members of the Hall of Fame

Allison won 19 races and 14 poles, including the 1992 Daytona 500, before his tragic death in a helicopter accident in 1993. Months earlier Allison concluded his best premier series season, running first in the championship standings until his car was collected in an accident during the final race at Atlanta.

Despite winning his own Daytona 500, Allison’s favorite racing moment was finishing second to his father in the 1988 “Great American Race” as the pair became the first and only father-son combo to finish 1-2 in NASCAR’s biggest event.

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Red Farmer’s career is one long series of immeasurable accolades.

For instance, it’s entirely unknown just how many wins Farmer has. One thing is for sure: It’s a lot … somewhere north of 700.

Born: Oct. 15, 1932
Hometown: Hueytown, Ala.

Championships
Late Model Sportsman: 1969, ’70, ’71
Modified: 1956

His passion for the sport is likewise immeasurable. After all, he continues to race, even after eclipsing 80 years of age.

But the record books do have a few things that are black-and-white and proof positive about this member of the Alabama Gang. He collected three consecutive championships in NASCAR’s Late Model Sportsman division from 1969-71, long after he won the Modified title in 1956.

RELATED: Red Farmer’s career stats | Members of the Hall of Fame

Though he preferred racing in the Late Model Sportsman division, Farmer did run 36 premier series races, with a best finish of fourth (twice).

In 1998, Farmer’s many successes — clearly too many to officially count — landed him on the list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

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Nominee for NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2019

Joe Gibbs has won throughout his entire life.

The three-time Super Bowl champion football coach started Joe Gibbs Racing in 1992 and has led the organization to four premier series championships and five NASCAR Xfinity Series titles.

Born: November 25, 1940
Hometown: Mocksville, N.C.

Championships
Premier: 2000, ’02, ’05, ’15
Xfinity: 2008, ’09, ’10, ’12, ’16

Premier Series Owner Stats
Competed: 1992-present (Stats as of 2017)
Starts: 2,164 Wins: 148 Poles: 114

Years on Ballot: 1

Known as a master motivator, Gibbs’ 140 premier series owner wins rank third all-time. They include two Daytona 500 victories and five Brickyard 400 wins.

His premier series titles have come with three different drivers: Bobby Labonte (2000), Tony Stewart (2002, ’05) and Kyle Busch (2016). Busch’s championship was the first one in the premier series for Toyota.

RELATED: Joe Gibbs career stats | Members of the Hall of Fame

In addition to the team’s four premier series champions, many accomplished drivers have taken the wheel for Gibbs, including Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Ricky Craven and Joey Logano.

Referred to in NASCAR circles has simply “Coach,” Gibbs was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

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BUY TICKETS: See the races in Las Vegas | Complete race results

Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track that has given Kasey Kahne three of his 17 career victories, but the start of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was anything but auspicious for the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.



Kahne started 29th, and early handling problems caused him to lose a lap to race leader Kevin Harvick. But astute adjustments to the car by crew chief Keith Rodden enabled Kahne to regain the lost lap, and a lightning-fast pit stop late in the race put him in position to claim a fourth-place finish.


"We got behind early and just battled and battled," said Kahne, who posted his best result since a third-place run last October at Charlotte. "Had to battle (Matt) Kenseth for a long time for the lucky dog, and he got it and he drove to the front. I knew he was really good. We just got a lot better. The adjustments were spot on. If we didn’t have those, we would have been two or three laps down."



In the end, the quality work of Kahne’s crew made a crucial difference.



"The pit stops were really solid, and then our final pit stop was the best stop we had all day at the perfect time," Kahne said. "That put us in row three (for a restart with 11 laps left), and we were able to get to fourth.



"It was a great race. Our Farmers Insurance Chevrolet really came alive. It was good. It was fun. It was quite the battle. Five hundred miles at Atlanta is a long time to run right on the wall or right on the white line and switch it up."



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What a race!

It’s how many drivers got busted for speeding on pit road Sunday. Why don’t they just ?

The story, of course, was how totally gave the race away after . I thought for sure that was going to triumph in the end, but I’m not upset with ! is such a that I don’t even care that .

Now, it sounds like is having second thoughts about . I certainly hope , at least.

For the second race in a row, . If I were in that position, I would have . Time will only tell what happens next, when .

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BUY TICKETS: See the races at Darlington

DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA — Highlighting its award-winning throwback weekend plans of celebrating the 1985-89 era of the sport, Darlington Raceway will have rock legend Bret Michaels perform the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 pre-race concert on Sunday, Sept. 3.


Michaels, known for his role as front man for the multi-platinum recording band Poison and as a highly successful solo artist, will perform a variety of Poison and solo hits spanning his multigenerational career.


Stage-front tickets to see Michaels perform the Bojangles’ Southern 500 pre-race concert are on sale now by visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com or calling 866-459-7223. A grandstand ticket must be purchased with pre-race concert access.


"Bret Michaels is an iconic singer and performer who will put on an amazing show for the fans during the Bojangles’ Southern 500 pre-race concert," Track President Kerry Tharp said. "Michaels, with the band Poison, was one of the top rock acts in the late 80’s, which fits into our celebration years of 1985-89 extremely well."


Michaels is a multiplatinum global superstar who has turned his passion for music into a multi-faceted brand that encompasses record breaking touring sales, reality TV stardom, legendary songs that have sold over 32 million records, product endorsements as well as being a devoted philanthropist, all supported and followed by three generations of loyal fans.


Michaels was born in the small town of Butler, Pa., on March 15, 1963. Rising to fame as the front man of Poison, one of rock’s most iconic and enduring bands, he helped define the rock ‘n roll scene on the Sunset Strip. Their massive success includes selling over 30 million records worldwide and numerous hit singles.


Equally as successful, Michaels’ solo career has charted its own course with multiple solo albums. His album, Custom Built, topped the charts, reaching No. 1 on Billboards Hard Rock list.


When this multi-talented performer is not touring he can be found both in front of and behind the camera as a director, producer and a reality TV superstar. His first foray into reality TV brought the record-breaking "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels" franchise to VH1, one of the most successful shows in the network’s history, shattering weekly rating records during its run. Following three successful seasons of the show, he teamed up with VH1 for the docu-series "Life As I Know It" setting even more records.


Michaels has also starred in and won the NBC hit show, "Celebrity Apprentice." Coming into the show as the underdog, his tenacity and business sense helped him win the series, raising well over $300,000 for Diabetes research.


Michaels, personally and through his Life Rocks Foundation, has helped raise tens of millions of dollars for charity and makes donations to not only diabetes awareness and research but to such causes as childhood cancer, Wounded Warriors, St. Judes Children’s Hospital, PetSmart Charities and more. Having been diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of six, Michaels is passionately devoted to raise awareness of the debilitating disease in hopes of finding a cure.


He has partnered with both the American Diabetes Association and the JDRF acting as a spokesperson and sponsor, earning him numerous awards from a variety of organizations including the ADA’s first ever Chairman’s Citation award.

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BUY TICKETS: See the races at Texas
RELATED: Stage racing is a hit | Full Martinsville results



In the sixth race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the stage format debuted on a short track, and significantly upped the ante at Martinsville Speedway.


Fierce racing for the top-10 spots at the end of Stage 1 and Stage 2 added to the bumping, banging and thrilling racing at Sunday’s STP 500. 



Here’s what NASCAR reporters are saying about the Stage format:



"NASCAR really hit on something here, and it’s only going to get better as the playoffs approach and begin." — Matt Weaver, Autoweek | Full story

"Sunday was what NASCAR drivers, series officials, team executives and former racers forecasted when they introduced stage racing in January." — Dustin Long, NBC Sports | Full story


"Both stage conclusions were similar to the tight, crowded racing often seen in Saturday night shows at entertaining local short tracks." — Mike Hembree, USA Today | Full story



"There was hard racing, frayed nerves, angry tempers — all elements one would normally see on the half-mile track — but these elements were also amplified because of the intensity brought about by the awarding of points when the first two stages concluded on Lap 130 and 260 of the 500-lap race." — Jordan Bianchi, SB Nation | Full story


WATCH: Stage 2 ending sizzles at Martinsville



Kyle Busch was particularly perturbed with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the end of Stage 2, as the No. 17 tapped Busch, allowing Chase Elliott to win the stage. Busch promised payback would come eventually for Stenhouse.



"That’s exactly what NASCAR hoped for when it rolled out the stage format in January. NASCAR knew some traditional fans would view it as another gimmick, another way to ruin what was a traditional race. For NASCAR, it made the move to create moments to get fans wanting to watch earlier in the race, a move that could increase interest as well as television ratings." — Bob Pockrass, ESPN | Full story


Race winner Brad Keselowski, who helped design the new format, said: "That’s what this format is supposed to be about, is having moments like (that). Whether you agree with specific moves is really neither here nor there, but when you put things on the line, when you put more on the line throughout the race, you get more moments like that."


Other drivers are fans of the stage format, as well.