Sept. 7, 1939

Part of the “Alabama Gang” and brother of racing champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison, Donald “Donnie” Allison was born Sept. 7, 1939, in Miami. He’s a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit whose racing career spanned from 1966 to 1988.

Although he wasn’t a full-time driver, Donnie won 10 Winston Cup races. Donnie entered racing after a challenge from his brother Bobbie that he wouldn’t succeed at it.

Donnie’s career came to a halt in the 1981 World 600 at Charlotte when he was severely injured in a crash. However, he competed in 13 Winston Cup races afterward.

Donnie Allison was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama. 

Allison family NASCAR personalities, from left: father and son Donnie and Kenny Allison, and son and father Davey and Bobby Allison. Brothers Donnie and Bobby Allison, along with Charles “Red” Farmer, formed the core of the Alabama Gang of successful NASCAR drivers based out of Hueytown, Jefferson County. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Bobby Allison Racing, Inc.)

Donnie Allison was one of the original “Alabama Gang” based out of Hueytown. He and his brother, Bobby, helped make the 1970s an exciting time at Talladega. (Encyclopedia of Alabama, photograph from The Birmingham News)

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