DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison finally got his victory from Bowman Gray Stadium more than five decades after he took the checkered flag and the trophy.
NASCAR on Wednesday formally recognized 86-year-old Allison as the winner of the Myers Brothers Memorial at the track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Aug. 6, 1971. The sanctioning body updated the record books to reflect it, giving Allison 85 wins and moving him into fourth on the all-time wins list and out of a tie with Darrell Waltrip.
The race was one of six that season that featured a mix of Grand National (currently the Cup Series) and Grand American cars. Allison, who competed in both series at the time, chose to drive his Grand American Ford and won the race while leading 138 of 200 laps. Despite his getting to celebrate in Victory Lane, the win never counted toward Allison’s Cup Series total.
“For 53 years, the Myers Brothers Memorial was the only race run by NASCAR that did not have an official winner,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “As we began preparations for the upcoming Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, the topic of the [Aug. 6, 1971] race returned to the forefront.
“We felt it was the right thing to officially recognize Bobby’s win and honor him as an 85-time NASCAR Cup Series winner. We are grateful for Bobby’s lifetime contributions to NASCAR.”
France and longtime NASCAR executive Mike Helton visited Allison on Wednesday and told him of the news and presented him with a plaque commemorating the victory.
With Allison’s updated win total, he now trails only fellow NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty (200), David Pearson (105) and Jeff Gordon (93). At 84 wins, he had been tied with yet another Hall of Famer, Darrell Waltrip.
Allison was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s second class in 2011. He is a five-time NASCAR champion and a three-time winner of the Daytona 500.