Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 14, 1993 TAG: 9307140254
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HUEYTOWN, ALA. LENGTH: Medium
The death brought new pain to the racing world and the Allisons, one of the sport's most successful families that has also known its share of tragedy.
"When one hurts, we all hurt, and this is a hurting situation," said NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip.
Allison, 32, the eldest son of retired racing legend Bobby Allison, never regained consciousness following the crash at Talladega Superspeedway in east Alabama. He died of head injuries.
Allison bought the chopper less than a month ago and was at the controls when it went down Monday afternoon.
"He loved to fly. It was an addiction to Davey," said H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president of Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina and a friend of the Allison family.
H. Clay Earles, chief executive officer and owner of Martinsville Speedway, said:
"It's just a terrible tragedy, a terrible thing we'll have to live with. Davey was one of the nicest fellows I've ever met. He was always willing to help, to help the sport, the tracks. He will be sadly missed.
"At the last race we had here [the Hanes 500] in April, a young girl in Danville who had been blind her whole life wanted to meet Davey. She was a big fan of his. She was brought here to Martinsville and we arranged for Davey to meet her. They talked and hugged and you should have seen the smile on that girl's face. Davey did those kind of things. Making people feel good was important to him.
"When you consider everything that's happened to the Allison family in the last few years, how can they go on? How can they live with that. Davey's brother died last year, now Davey. Bob, their dad, was hurt at Pocono in 1988, a serious head injury. He hasn't completely gotten over it yet. I hope he does, but I'm afraid he won't. Bobby's mother passed away in the last 2-3 years, too.
"They say a family has to accept these things, that you have to go on, but how can they keep from thinking of it every moment of their lives?"
At the Talladega speedway on Tuesday, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board probed the crash site.
Roff Sasser, an NTSB investigator, declined to speculate on the cause but said there was no sign of mechanical failure.
Friends in Allison's hometown of Hueytown, about 15 miles west of Birmingham, took news of his death hard.
Allison was the last member of his immediate family still behind the wheel. His father is now a car owner after being forced into retirement by an injury in a crash, and his younger brother Clifford died in a racing crash 11 months ago.
"It's not going to be the same without an Allison running in a race somewhere," said Charlotte Hammonds, who works at a Hueytown auto-parts store where the Allisons do business.
Throughout this blue-collar town, motorists burned their headlights at midday in tribute. "We'll Miss You Davey - No. 28" and "The Winner's Circle of Peace Belongs to Davey" were among the signs displayed outside stores.
Gov. Jim Folsom directed flags to fly at half-staff. Elsewhere in the racing world, flags also were lowered, including those at the New Hampshire International Speedway, where Allison finished third in the track's inaugural Winston Cup race on Sunday.
Track owner Bob Bahre said he saw Allison before Sunday's race and wished him luck.
"He was excited about coming back in August for our Grand National race," Bahre said.
In the world of racing, it was the second off-track tragedy this year. Less than four months ago, 1992 Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki died in a small plane crash near Bristol, Tenn.
Allison is survived by his father and mother, Judy Allison; wife, Liz; two children, ages 3 and 1; and two sisters. A wake will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Bessemer, followed by funeral services at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB