Over 53 years have passed since one of the most controversial races in NASCAR history took place at Bowman Gray Stadium, but the controversy that surrounded the event was finally brought to an end on Wednesday.
1983 Winston Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison was officially awarded the victory in the 1971 race on Wednesday, giving him the 85th victory of his NASCAR career. The win breaks Allison’s tie with Darrell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time wins list, giving Allison sole ownership of the spot and moving Waltrip – and subsequently, every winner below him – down a rung on the ladder.
For over half a century, NASCAR’s record books refused to acknowledge Allison – or any driver in the Aug. 6, 1971 race – as the race winner, leaving a gaping hole in NASCAR’s record book.
The controversy stems from the Mustang Allison piloted around the quarter-mile bullring on that August day, as the Grand American ‘pony car’ he was driving was not ruled as a ‘Cup Series’ car. In an effort to boost the field sizes for both the Cup Series — then called Grand National — and its short-lived Grand American Series for “pony cars” such as Camaros, Cougars, Firebirds, Javelins and Mustangs, NASCAR officials announced that six races in the 1971 campaign would be combination events for both divisions. Grand National drivers were not happy with the mixture of cars, leading to a contentious atmosphere both before and after the race, with officials eventually attempting to quell the pushback by declaring the race would not have an official winner in the record books.
Interestingly, Allison’s case somehow wasn’t treated the same as that of Tiny Lund, who won the two other “combo” races that year in a Chevrolet Camaro and was allowed to keep both wins in the record book.
Now, over five decades since the controversy dominated the NASCAR news cycle, the 86-year old Allison can be assured that legacy is complete, and that he stands alone in fourth-place on the all-time wins list.
