NASCAR legend Bobby Allison has been awarded his 85th career Cup Series win - over 53 years after a controversial race that was stripped from him at Bowman Gray Stadium on the 6th of August 1971.
We know that the headline to this article looks like it would not be out of place for an April Fool's joke - except that it is 100% true. 53 years after crossing the finish line first at Bowman Gray Stadium, Bobby Allison has been awarded the win for the NASCAR Cup event. For over half a century, that famous race at the Bowman Gray Stadium has been a hot topic of conversation in the NASCAR community.
But what happened?
Throughout the late 60s and early 70s, the NASCAR Cup cars would occasionally be joined on the ovals and road courses by the smaller Grand American cars.
The Grand American car list featured entries from the likes of Ford with their new Mustangs, Chevrolet with their Camaros, AMC with their new Javelins, Mercury with the Cougars and Pontiac with the now legendary TransAm. Several Grand American cars were former SCCA Trans-Am cars. These cars were thoroughly overhauled and re-engineered to meet the NASCAR safety rules and weight limits.
The engines used to power these American pony cars were initially restricted to a 5.0-litre displacement. That limit very quickly found itself on the scrap heap when the dreadful reliability of the Grand American racers was realised. That realisation eventually led to an increase to a 6-litre maximum capacity, and this helped with the performance gap in the NASCAR cup cars as well as stabilising the reliability issues all of the teams had been having.
2011 NASCAR Hall Of Famer, Bobby Allison, made the jump to a Grand American Ford Mustang for the race meeting that would push him into the spotlight. Allison ended up beating the entire NASCAR Cup Car field and leading well over half of the laps raced, with the final total being counted at 138 out of 200. NASCAR's most successful driver in history, Richard Petty, came home second just a few seconds behind Allison.
Allison rightfully went to Victory Lane and was allowed to lift his trophy like every other winner. However, the win was not counted as an official win in the history of NASCAR with the reasoning of the Grand American cars not being NASCAR Cup Car competition.
The final decision was that there was to be no winner. No one was awarded the Cup win for that race despite it being an official part of the 1971 schedule. Despite Allison's shared dominance with Richard Petty in a Cup Car that year, he was not driving one in the mixed field, which meant that he was not credited as a Cup Series winner for that race.
The change in result for the 1971 contest comes at a turning point for the track as the Bowman Gray stadium circuit is returning to the Cup Series schedule for the 2025 racing season. The historic short track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will host an event labelled as 'The Clash' and will be the first time teams can put rubber to the tarmac in 2025.
Not only will the track be returning to the championship, but 2025 will be the first time since that controversial race In 1971 that the Bowman Gray Stadium will play a part on the Cup Series calendar.
What do you think about the overturning of the result? Was it the right decision or had it been too long? Let us know in the comments below!
We know that the headline to this article looks like it would not be out of place for an April Fool's joke - except that it is 100% true. 53 years after crossing the finish line first at Bowman Gray Stadium, Bobby Allison has been awarded the win for the NASCAR Cup event. For over half a century, that famous race at the Bowman Gray Stadium has been a hot topic of conversation in the NASCAR community.
But what happened?
Throughout the late 60s and early 70s, the NASCAR Cup cars would occasionally be joined on the ovals and road courses by the smaller Grand American cars.
The Grand American car list featured entries from the likes of Ford with their new Mustangs, Chevrolet with their Camaros, AMC with their new Javelins, Mercury with the Cougars and Pontiac with the now legendary TransAm. Several Grand American cars were former SCCA Trans-Am cars. These cars were thoroughly overhauled and re-engineered to meet the NASCAR safety rules and weight limits.
The engines used to power these American pony cars were initially restricted to a 5.0-litre displacement. That limit very quickly found itself on the scrap heap when the dreadful reliability of the Grand American racers was realised. That realisation eventually led to an increase to a 6-litre maximum capacity, and this helped with the performance gap in the NASCAR cup cars as well as stabilising the reliability issues all of the teams had been having.
2011 NASCAR Hall Of Famer, Bobby Allison, made the jump to a Grand American Ford Mustang for the race meeting that would push him into the spotlight. Allison ended up beating the entire NASCAR Cup Car field and leading well over half of the laps raced, with the final total being counted at 138 out of 200. NASCAR's most successful driver in history, Richard Petty, came home second just a few seconds behind Allison.
Allison rightfully went to Victory Lane and was allowed to lift his trophy like every other winner. However, the win was not counted as an official win in the history of NASCAR with the reasoning of the Grand American cars not being NASCAR Cup Car competition.
The final decision was that there was to be no winner. No one was awarded the Cup win for that race despite it being an official part of the 1971 schedule. Despite Allison's shared dominance with Richard Petty in a Cup Car that year, he was not driving one in the mixed field, which meant that he was not credited as a Cup Series winner for that race.
53-year Wait For A Win
In a shocking turn of events, after fifty-three years, the result has been changed, and Allison has been recognised as the official winner of the event as of October 2024. With this win now credited to him, Allison stands with 85 Cup Wins to his name, pushing him up the rankings by one position to claim fourth place of all time, displacing Darrell Walltrip.The change in result for the 1971 contest comes at a turning point for the track as the Bowman Gray stadium circuit is returning to the Cup Series schedule for the 2025 racing season. The historic short track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will host an event labelled as 'The Clash' and will be the first time teams can put rubber to the tarmac in 2025.
Not only will the track be returning to the championship, but 2025 will be the first time since that controversial race In 1971 that the Bowman Gray Stadium will play a part on the Cup Series calendar.
What do you think about the overturning of the result? Was it the right decision or had it been too long? Let us know in the comments below!
