Dale Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 2001, is still fresh in the minds of motorsports fans, who will likely always remember where they were when they heard the news. Eight years ago the racing community was rocked by another tragedy, and the shock was especially hard on fans of the famed Alabama Gang.
On July 12, 1993, Neil Bonnett (who later died in a crash at Daytona) was at Talladega Superspeedway to assist his son, David, during a practice session at the 2.66-mile venue. Davey Allison, who had recently purchased a helicopter, decided to pay his friends a visit.
With ageless Red Farmer onboard the craft, the pair made their way from Hueytown, Ala., to Talladega, Ala., and at approximately 3 p.m. Allison attempted to land near the infield media center.
Suddenly, something went terribly wrong. The helicopter made contact with the fence surrounding the media center, lurched, and then crashed to the ground. Farmer was able to crawl from the wreckage and suffered no life-threatening injuries.
Allison, however, was barely clinging to life.
Within 30 minutes, a Lifesaver helicopter crew arrived from Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., and whisked Allison back to their trauma unit. Allison had suffered massive head injuries in the crash and was listed in grave condition. By 7 a.m. on July 13, he was dead.
The reaction to the loss of this young racing hero was similar to that displayed following Earnhardt’s fatal crash. Fans across the country drove with their headlights on as a tribute to Allison, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame became a focal point of fans wanting to pay their respects.
