NASCAR awards Bobby Allison 85th Cup win from 1971

In a historic decision, NASCAR has officially awarded Bobby Allison with his 85th Cup Series victory, giving him sole possession of fourth all-time on the wins list. In the storied history of the sport, only one race went 53 years without an official winner.

It was the 1971 season and NASCAR was trying to cross-promote the Grand National and Grand American series. The Grand American series was a series comprised of “Pony” cars, Mustangs, Camaros, Javelins, Cougars, and Trans Ams.

In order to help promote the two series, NASCAR held a few races with both series racing one another at the same time. One race happened to be Bowman Gray in 1971.

Bobby Allison won the race in a Grand American car. It caused an uproar, as the Pony cars were seen to have a fuel mile advantage in a race like the one at Bowman Gray. Richard Petty was in second place in a Grand National car.

Due to the uproar, Allison was awarded the trophy and prize money, but not an official victory. That was, until now.

NASCAR has awarded Bobby Allison with the win from 1971, meaning he now has 85 career wins. This pushes Allison past Darrell Waltrip, and he only trails Richard Petty, David Pearson, and Jeff Gordon.

Here is Allison officially being awarded his 85th career win. A point of contention he has always held onto.

A historic moment. pic.twitter.com/lISmMGun7w

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 23, 2024

While NASCAR doesn’t always get them right, they got this one right.

Bobby Allison deserves Bowman Gray victory

The way the race was billed, how historic results have been handled in the past, and other reasons, this decision makes sense. Bobby Allison won that race. So, he deserves to be recognized for it.

While it shouldn’t have taken this long, it’s great that Allison gets to enjoy this moment. To kick off the 2025 season, NASCAR will race the Busch Light Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. So, it’s the right time for this decision to be made, if it was ever going to be made.

During his career, Bobby Allison was a force. You don’t win that many races without having the talent to do it. Cup Series champion, IROC champion, three-time Daytona 500 champ, four-time Southern 500 winner, three World 600s – I could go on. While all of those accolades are great, this lost victory seemed to always be on his mind.

So, Bobby Allison now moves ahead of Darrell Waltrip. I’m sure old DW isn’t too happy about that. But in the end, it’s the right decision from NASCAR. Now, if we could only right a few more wrongs…