Legends of NASCAR - Neil Bonnett Traditional Cache
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Legends of NASCAR - Neil Bonnett
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This series is in honor of the legends of
the sport of NASCAR racing who have passed away. There is something
for everyone (the numbers hounds or the history buffs). The series
is meant to be done from east to west. Please park completely off
of the road and use caution at all times. Most weekends, there
isn't more than a handfull of cars along this road but 2 weekends a
year this becomes one of the largest cities in the
State!
Neil Bonnett was one of the most affable
drivers in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, earning 18 series
victories during his 18-year career. Among his 18 wins were
back-to-back victories in NASCAR's longest (miles) race -- the
Coca-Cola 600 (1982,'83). Bonnett also won back-to-back Busch Clash
(now Bud Shootout) races at Daytona International Speedway (1983,
'84). Bonnett's highest finish in the series points chase was in
1985 when he finished fourth and his teammate, Darrell Waltrip, won
the championship. He was an original member of the Alabama Gang
that include the Allisons and Red Farmer. Outside the cockpit,
Bonnett developed a career as a television commentator for race
broadcasts and hosted his own show, Neil Bonnett's Winners on TNN:
The Nashville Network. Bonnett was fatally injured in a crash
during practice for the 1994 Daytona 500. He was inducted into the
National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame in 1997. An
original member of the "Alabama Gang" along with his great friends
Bobby, Donnie and Davey Allison and Red Farmer, Neil Bonnett logged
over 360 starts in NASCAR Winston Cup Series races enjoying 18
victories, 83 Top 5 finishes, and 156 top 10 finishes. Among Neil
Bonnett's greatest victories were wins at the 1979 Daytona
Firecracker 400, the 1980 Talladega 500, and the 1981 Southern 500.
Bonnett also celebrated many Winston Cup victories at Atlanta,
Pocono, Charlotte, Richmond and others. After a career postponing
crash, Bonnett launched a highly successful broadcasting career
from 1990 through 1994 as an analyst and as host of his own very
successful weekly show about auto racing entitled, "Winners."
Bonnet drove for such legendary teams and car owners as Junior
Johnson, the Wood's Brothers, Harry Hyde, Richard Childress, Jim
Stacy, and Rah Moc in everything from Fords and Mercurys to
Chevrolets and Pontiacs earning over $3.3 million dollars in prize
money. Bonnet enjoyed his family, racing, and hunting and fishing.
Neil Bonnett has been sorely missed by his family, friends, and
fans since a fatal testing crash at Daytona in 1994. Neil Bonnett,
NASCAR legend and original member of the storied "Alabama Gang"
joins the Oceanside Rotary Club Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame
February 14, 2005. From the TalladegaWalk.com Website: Rarely does
a racer manage to combine aggressive driving and genuine popularity
the way Neil Bonnett did. Neil enjoyed being referred to as "a
charger", but even more than that, he enjoyed the friendship and
respect that he was accorded in every garage or pit area he ever
went into. Neil Bonnett's career began as a Hueytown teenager who
was considered a protégé to Bobby Allison, and grew until he was an
accepted member of the famed "Alabama Gang" of auto racing. .
Bonnett began his move to the big time in 1973 at Daytona, in the
Sportsman 300. He ran his first Daytona 500 in 1976, starting 13th
and finishing fifth. In 13 Winston Cup races that season, Bonnett
had that top-five finish and four more top-ten finishes, winning
some $31,000. The 1977 season began a string of 13 consecutive
years in which Bonnett would run no fewer than 21 races, with 18
wins, 83 top-five and 156 top-ten finishes. His first Winston Cup
victory came in 1977, at the Capital City 400 in Richmond,
Virginia. His last was perhaps the most remarkable, when he
returned from a devastating crash in 1987 to win two of the first
three races of 1988. Bonnett finished fourth in the Daytona 500,
then won at Richmond and Rockingham. He also went to Australia and
edged Bobby Allison for the checkered flag in the Goodyear 500 K
exhibition race in Melbourne. It was a remarkable comeback of a
career over following the 1987 crash that eventually led to major
hip surgery. Doctors said Bonnett would miss a year, but Neil was
back in twelve weeks. Bonnett resumed racing full time in 1989. He
raced five times in 1990 before suffering the crash at Darlington,
South Carolina, which left him with amnesia and dizziness. At that
point Bonnett turned his energies to other activities, from trying
to field his own NASCAR team to hosting a television show for TNN
called "Winners". Finally, in 1992, Bonnett began testing cars for
good friend and fellow NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, which led to a
ride in Earnhardt's second car for the 1993 DieHard 500. Neil
crashed hard, but escaped injury. However, the bug had bitten
again, and Bonnett secured a ride for six races in the 1994 season.
A crash at Daytona in the very first practice session claimed his
life, and the motorsports world again mourned the loss of one of
their favorites. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and two
children, David and Kristen. Neil Bonnett, A Member Of The Alabama
Gang...and the first Class of Inductees into the Talladega-Texaco
Walk Of Fame.
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