The Alabama Gang was the nickname for a group of NASCAR drivers (and subsequently their offspring) who set up shop and operated out of Hueytown, Alabama (near Birmingham, Alabama ). In the late 1950s, young auto racer Bobby Allison left Miami, Florida , looking for an area that had more opportunities to race. He discovered central Alabama in his travels. The region was dotted with small dirt tracks, and Allison won big his first few times out. He returned to Florida to pick up his brother Donnie Allison , and friend Red Farmer .
37-716: The trio set up shop in Hueytown, Alabama, and were dominant throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973, Jimmy Means joined the gang. Beginning in 1979, their sons and contemporaries began racing, and became known as members of the Alabama Gang themselves. Bobby's son Davey Allison , and fellow Hueytown residents Neil Bonnett , and David Bonnett . Donnie's daughter Pam married Hut Stricklin , who joined this generation. Other drivers (notably Dale Earnhardt ) were great friends with members of this group, and while not Alabama residents, these other drivers became associated with
74-578: A crew chief in NASCAR, working for Bud Moore Engineering and Moy Racing . Means was part the Alabama Gang which included Bobby Allison , Donnie Allison , Neil Bonnett and Red Farmer and later Davey Allison , Hut Stricklin , Steve Grissom and Mike Alexander . Means' nickname "Smut" originated from his admiration for mechanic Smokey Yunick . Since the nickname "Smokey" was already taken in racing circles, Means' crew nicknamed him "Smut",
111-503: A best points finish of fifth. After 1987, Rudd departed for King Racing , rookie Brett Bodine replaced him. Compared to the teams' previous success, Bodine's performance was disappointing, and he left to replace Rudd at King. In 1990, Moore chose Morgan Shepherd to be his new driver. Shepherd had a strong year, winning the Atlanta Journal 500 and finishing a career-best fifth in points. When Shepherd dropped seven points in
148-408: A phenomenal year, winning five races and that year's Grand National championship. David Pearson drove the second car(No. 08) at Atlanta Motor Speedway , finishing 11th. 1963 saw Weatherly and Moore repeating as champions, despite winning only three races and running just over half of the schedule. Welborn returned to the second car(No. 06) at Charlotte Motor Speedway , finishing 29th, Weatherly
185-525: A practice session for David Bonnett (Neil's son). Then Neil Bonnett died while practicing for the 1994 Daytona 500. Bobby Allison retired in 1988 after suffering injuries in a race at the Miller High Life 500 in June 1988 at Pocono Raceway that nearly cost him his life, but returned in 1993 to race in a Jaguar as part of ESPN's "Fast Masters" held at Lucas Oil Raceway . Farmer, born October 15, 1932,
222-455: A race in 1997 , when an attempt to make the Daytona 500 with Larry Pearson failed. In 1998 , Moore began developing three-time ARCA champion Tim Steele for a run at Winston Cup with sponsorship from Nike and Sony . Steele had been recovering from injuries sustained in a crash at Atlanta, and with the help of his father and sponsor Rescue Engine Formula , Steele would seek Rookie of
259-429: A rotation of drivers in his No. 16, Bobby Allison , Gordon Johncock , Sam McQuagg , Cale Yarborough , and LeeRoy Yarbrough all drove, most of whom finished in the top-ten one. In 1968, Cale returned for one race, and Tiny Lund drove for thirteen races, finishing in the top ten seven times. BME only ran one race in 1969, with Don Schissler finishing 36th at the inaugural Talladega 500. Bud Moore Engineering took
296-407: A sponsorship change to Thompson Industries for 1980 , Means failed to finish higher than 12th, but he was still able to move up to 17th in the standings. Broadway Motors became his new sponsor in 1981, and after two top-tens, he continued to move up to fourteenth in points. In 1982 , he was able to garner an additional pair of ninth-place runs, and finished a career-best 11th in points. It also marked
333-510: A three-year hiatus until 1972, when David Pearson piloted the No. 15 Ford to a 26th-place finish at Riverside. LeeRoy Yarbrough , Dick Brooks , and Donnie Allison also drove that year. In 1973, Bobby Isaac climbed on board with Sta-Power Industries sponsoring. Isaac had six top-ten finishes until the Talladega 500 , when he radioed in to Moore and told him he was quitting. When he got out of
370-478: A tire test at Daytona International Speedway . Moore retired No. 1 and fielded the Nos. 15 and 16 for Earl Balmer and Dieringer, respectively. Dieringer had another win and a third-place points finish, while Balmer had three top-fives. After that season, Moore cut down to Dieringer's car and ran a limited schedule, with Dieringer nailing down two more victories. At the end of the season, Dieringer moved on and Moore had
407-513: Is the oldest member of the "Gang". His first race was in 1948. He was injured in the helicopter crash that took Davey Allison's life, but recovered and still at 90, races regularly at the Talladega Short Track across the street from Talladega Superspeedway. (2022) In February 1988, two Gang members Neil Bonnett and Bobby Allison, traveled to Melbourne , Australia for the first ever NASCAR race held outside of North America held at
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#1732790966089444-604: The Calder Park Thunderdome . Bonnett and Allison qualified on the front row and dominated the 280 lap race known as the Goodyear NASCAR 500 . Bonnett won the race by just 0.86 seconds from Allison. The third generation of the Alabama Gang has continued the legacy. Donnie's grandsons Taylor Stricklin (son of Pam) and ARCA driver Justin Allison (son of Kenny) have scored wins with Justin Allison winning
481-405: The Daytona 500 . The team won its debut with Joe Weatherly driving the No. 8 Pontiac . Weatherly drove for the team for most of the season, and won eight races. Bud Moore Engineering became one of the first multi-car teams in NASCAR history, fielding the No. 18 for five races. Bob Welborn , Fireball Roberts , Cotton Owens , and Tommy Irwin drove that car. In 1962, Weatherly returned and had
518-603: The ARCA ModSpace 125 at Pocono Raceway and Taylor winning a Limited Late Model title at Hickory Motor Speedway . Neil's grandson Justin Bonnett (son of David) has also raced Late Models and Modifieds in the Alabama and Florida panhandle region. Hueytown memorialized the racers by renaming its main street Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive. There are other tributes to the "Gang" around the city. Other streets bear names of
555-541: The Alabama Gang. All of the original members of the Alabama Gang have been inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame . Davey Allison's little brother, Clifford Allison , followed the Alabama Gang tradition, but while practicing for a Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway in 1992, he spun out in turn 4 and was killed. Davey Allison died in a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway in 1993 while flying to observe
592-448: The No. 15 until the end of 2001. Although no sponsor was named, the team assured Cope that there was enough financial stability for him to run for the entirety of his contract. Cope qualified at Lowe's Motor Speedway for the team in 1999, finishing 35th. Things looked promising for 2000, as Cope had a strong Speedweeks. However, the team soon started to skip races because of financial difficulties. Things went from bad to worse as Moore left
629-622: The Year honors in 1999 . Soon though, the deal fell apart. Loy Allen Jr. attempted the Brickyard 400 , but failed to qualify. The team did start two races with Ted Musgrave , both races resulting in DNF's. After a failed attempt with Jeff Green to qualify for the 1999 Daytona 500 , Moore was approached by a California family, Robert, Sue, and Randy Fenley, who were operating a successful NASCAR West Coast team and wanted to expand into Cup. Moore sold
666-446: The barrier, as his head slid out the window and hit the wall, suffering major head injuries. Moore retired No. 8 and switched to No. 1, and hired Billy Wade , the 1963 NASCAR Rookie of the Year , to drive. Wade had a strong year, winning four consecutive races and finishing fourth in points. Bobby Johns , Johnny Rutherford , and Darel Dieringer also saw time in the car, with Dieringer winning at Augusta Speedway. Wade himself died in
703-474: The car, Isaac announced he was retiring. Some reports surfaced saying Isaac quit because voices in his head had told him to. His replacement was an unpolished rookie named Darrell Waltrip , who had a top-ten at Darlington Raceway . In 1974, George Follmer drove the car with R.C. Cola as sponsor, but was released after Riverside, and Buddy Baker drove for the rest of the year, and won two poles. Baker stayed on for 1975, and won four races and finished 15th in
740-533: The championship standings. Baker won one race in 1976 and finished seventh in the points, but did not visit victory lane in 1977. He left at the end of the year. Baker's replacement was Bobby Allison . Allison won five races each over the next two seasons, including the 1978 Daytona 500 , and finished second and third in the points, respectively. By the end of the 1970s, Bud Moore Engineering had returned to prominence. After Allison won four races in 1980 and finished sixth in points, he left for other opportunities. He
777-728: The city's history. On April 30, 2014, Talladega Superspeedway renamed the back straightaway The Alabama Gang Superstretch . Jimmy Means James Means (born May 29, 1950) is a retired American racing driver and owner, who competed in the Winston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and a former owner of NASCAR Xfinity Series team Jimmy Means Racing . He competed in NASCAR for eighteen years in mostly his own equipment, posting seventeen career top-tens. He made three career Busch Series starts in 1989, finishing 10th at Darlington Raceway . Following his retirement, Means worked as
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#1732790966089814-827: The days following qualifying for the 1994 Daytona 500. He was winless in 455 starts. In 1995 he had a brief stint as team manager for the Bud Moore-owned, Lake Speed-driven No. 15 Ford Quality Care Thunderbird. Means continued to own NASCAR cars through the 1990s and 2000s, primarily in the Busch Series (now Xfinity Series ). In 2012, he was a part-owner of the new Hamilton Means Racing team, which fielded his traditional number 52. ( key ) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led ) Bud Moore Engineering Bud Moore Engineering , later Fenley-Moore Racing ,
851-410: The end of the year, Speed departed for Melling Racing , and popular veteran Dick Trickle took over. After a dismal season that yielded just one top-ten, Trickle left the team. Wally Dallenbach Jr. signed on with Hayes Communications in 1996, but only had three top-ten finishes. He and Hayes left the team at the end of the year. After the disappointment of 1996 , Bud Moore Engineering did not make
888-638: The first time in his career he ran every race on the schedule. Means had the highest finish of his career in 1983 , when he had a seventh-place run at Talladega. Combined with two other top-tens, he dropped seven spots in the standings. During the 1984 , Means suffered injuries in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway , forcing him to miss several races. He did not have a top-ten finish over the next two years, and he lost his Broadway sponsorship, picking up funding from Voyles Auto Savage in late 1986 . He also switched his manufacturer to Pontiac . In 1987 , Eureka Vacuum Cleaners became Means' new sponsor, and he had
925-590: The last top-ten of his career at Richmond International Raceway . He dropped to what was at the time the lowest points finish of his career (30th) in 1988, and continued to struggle in 1989, failing to qualify for several races and dropping another spot in the standings despite a new sponsor in Alka-Seltzer . Means had already chosen to skip two races in favor of Bobby Hillin Jr. in 1991 after being involved with J. D. McDuffie 's fatal crash; he continued to relinquish
962-517: The members, including Davey Allison Boulevard and Red Farmer Drive, and certain local businesses also have paid tribute to the famous drivers. A Honda automobile dealership located in Hueytown was named Neil Bonnett Honda for many years, but it was renamed Serra Honda in 2006. Additionally, the Seal of the City of Hueytown features two checkered flags, acknowledging the large part racing has played in
999-622: The number 52 car with sponsorship from WIXC , finishing in eleventh place twice. The following season, Means drove twenty-six races and had a career-best six top-ten finishes, but due to twelve DNFs, he finished nineteenth in points. In 1978 , Means began running as an independent driver, except for the Winston 500 , where he drove for Bill Champion . He had two top-tens and improved three spots to finish sixteenth in points. He received new sponsorship from Mr. Transmission, but only had one top-ten in 1979 , forcing him to fall to 23rd in points. After
1036-405: The operation to them but remained on board as a consultant. They attempted their first race at that year's Brickyard 400 as the No. 62 with Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce as sponsor. Jeff Davis and Lance Hooper shared the driving duties, but they did not qualify for the race. Nevertheless, the team began preparing for 2000 . Late in the year, the team announced they would hire Derrike Cope would drive
1073-517: The residue left behind by smoke. He is the father of Brad Means. Means won dozens of late model races in Alabama and Tennessee in the early 1970s, including track championships at Huntsville Speedway and the historic Nashville Speedway USA . Means made his Cup debut in 1976 at the Daytona 500, driving the number five Chevrolet for Bill Gray. He led one lap but finished 40th after an engine failure. He ran an additional eighteen races for Gray in
1110-621: The ride to Mike Wallace at the end of the season. After losing the Alka-Seltzer sponsorship, Means continued to drive a part-time schedule. After getting part-time funding from NAPA and Hurley Limo, Means ran eighteen races in 1993. Means had planned to race again in 1994 for his own team. Speedweeks 1994 was marred by the deaths of fellow Alabama driver Neil Bonnett , and reigning Goody's Dash Series Champion Rodney Orr . The deaths of Bonnett and Orr convinced Means that he had no more reason to be racing. Means announced his retirement in
1147-444: The standings in 1991, he left for Wood Brothers Racing , and Moore selected Geoff Bodine , older brother of Moore's former driver Brett, to be his new pilot. Despite two wins and eleven top-ten finishes, Bodine finished just 16th in points. Bodine won Moore's last race in 1993 at Sears Point , which was one of Bodine's last races for the team as he purchased the late Alan Kulwicki 's AK Racing team five days prior to this victory and
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1184-544: The team. Soon afterwards, Cope quit the team in disgust because he felt that he was lied to when he was told the organization was financially secure. Musgrave drove at Talladega and finished 35th. After that, the team moved to North Carolina and hoped to run the ARCA series until they could afford to compete in NASCAR again. That never came to be and the team soon shut down and sold its equipment. Moore's old shop in Spartanburg
1221-408: Was a championship-winning NASCAR team. It was owned and operated by mechanic Bud Moore and ran out of Spartanburg, South Carolina . While the team was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s, the final years were tumultuous due to lack of sponsorship and uncompetitive race cars. The team's numbers are 01, 06, 08, 1, 8, 15, 16, and 62. Bud Moore Engineering debuted in 1961, at a qualifying race for
1258-413: Was considering retirement going into 1964, and he drove only a couple of races for Moore, until tragedy struck. While racing Moore's No. 8 Mercury at Riverside International Raceway , Weatherly began setting up for Turn 6 when he lost control and struck the concrete barrier, then slid across the racetrack where his car came to a stop. Weatherly was dead when workers got to his car. He died when his car hit
1295-533: Was going to become an owner-driver, and took over that car at Dover in September of that year. Lake Speed , who had been announced as the new driver for 1994 on September 3, 1993, took over for Bodine at that Dover race, and his best finish was an 11th at the Mello Yello 500 . Speed returned in 1994, this time with Ford as the sponsor. He had four top five finishes and an eleventh-place finish in points. At
1332-432: Was replaced by Benny Parsons , who won three races and finished tenth in points. He too, decided to move on after that season. Moore hit paydirt in 1982 by hiring a hotshot young superstar named Dale Earnhardt and signed Wrangler Jeans as primary sponsor. Earnhardt had one win in his first year, and finished 12th in points. After only improving slightly the next year, Earnhardt departed for Richard Childress Racing , and
1369-519: Was replaced by Ricky Rudd (who was driving the No. 3 Childress car that Earnhardt was going to be driving, both with the same Wrangler sponsorship). After a demoralizing start that resulted in Rudd flipping over several times in a crash in the Bud Shootout , Rudd won at Richmond and finished seventh in points. Armed with new sponsor Motorcraft , Rudd won five more races from 1985 to 1987, and had
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