February 25, 1995

NASCAR driver Davey Allison was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on what would have been his 34th birthday. A member of the Alabama Gang, a group of successful NASCAR drivers from the state that included his father and uncle, Allison won the 1987 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He died in 1994 when a helicopter he was piloting crashed in the Talladega Superspeedway infield. Over his short nine-year career, Allison notched 19 career Winston Cup Series victories, including three at Talladega Superspeedway, and was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

A youthful Davey Allison became a favorite at Talladega in the 1980s. (Kathleen Lupole/Wikimedia)

Davey Allison signs autographs for his fans. The son of racing legend Bobby Allison became a fast favorite in the years before his tragic death at 32 in a helicopter crash. His string of victories at Talladega began in the 1980s. (Wikimedia, Shee_rah77)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.