On Saturday, November 9, 2024, Bobby Allison, the NASCAR legend and father of late prolific racers Davey and Clifford Allison, passed away at his home in Mooresville, North Carolina. While a cause of death wasn’t disclosed, multiple reports stated Allison had been in declining health for years.
Allison, who won the 1983 NASCAR championship and Daytona 500 race three times, led a remarkable life marked with spectacular triumphs but also terrible tragedies. Allison married Judy in 1960 and had four children, including two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison.
The sport he put on the map claimed the life of his youngest son, Clifford Allison, in 1992. A year later, Bobby Allison lost his oldest son Davey to a helicopter crash. Allison is survived by his two daughters, Bonnie and Carey.
The overwhelming grief led Allison and his wife, Judy, to divorce in 1995. However, the two reconciled five years later and were remarried again. Here’s everything we know about the crash that claimed the lives of Bobby Allison's two sons.
What happened to Bobby Allison's son Clifford Allison?
Bobby Allison’s youngest son, Clifford Allison, was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 20, 1964, and made his racing debut in the Limited Sportsman Division at 19 years old, according to Motorsport Memorial.
Clifford, like his brother Davey, was immersed in racing from an early age and took second place in the ARCA Series Championship before winning the Montgomery International Raceway Championship in 1987.
Clifford Allison progressed to the Busch Grand National Series in 1990 and was killed on August 13, 1992, after a head-on collision into the turn-one wall at Michigan International Raceway during a practice session.
Clifford Allison (27), who suffered a skull fracture, was declared dead on arrival at Foote Memorial Hospital in Jackson, Michigan.
According to the Greensboro report, Bobby Allison, who was at the track during the time of the crash, reportedly rode in the ambulance to the hospital. Clifford, who was married to Elisa Sproule, had three children, Brandon, Tanya, and Leslie.
Donnie Johnson, general manager of Bobby Allison's racing team and Clifford Allison's uncle, who spoke to Bobby Allison after the crash, told the Associated Press:
“His reaction was that he'd just lost his youngest son. That's enough said. There's probably no way for him to cope with this, but he is standing up very well from all indications when I was talking to him.”
Less than one year after Clifford Allison’s death, Bobby Allison’s oldest son Davey Allison, also a NASCAR race car driver who won the 1992 Daytona 500, died in a helicopter crash at Talladega on July 13, 1993.
What happened to Davey Allison?
Davey Allison began racing in 1979 and was reportedly attempting to land at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama when it collided with the terrain.
Davey Allison, the NASCAR Winston Cup winner, was fatally injured in the crash, and his passenger, Red Farmer, sustained serious injuries. Last year, Red Farmer recounted the crash that claimed the life of his friend. He said:
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“When things went crazy and the helicopter started going out of control all this crazy stuff, I was still strapped in and I braced myself to the side of the dome and kind of holding on. But Davey was still flying the car, he was still trying to fly it, control it and he didn’t get to brace himself like I did” via CBS42.
At the time of the crash, Davey Allison was married to Liz Allison and had two kids, Krista Allison Sheinfield and Robert Grey Allison.
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