SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates... ยป More Photos
The Musco crew spent 16 frantic weeks developing and installing the system and it worked magnificently, brightly lighting the track without causing dangerous glare. Track officials billed the first-ever night race at a 1.5-mile NASCAR superspeedway as “One Hot Night,” and the event was televised on the Nashville Network, setting up a magic night of racing.
To win the All-Star race, Allison and Yates brought back the same Ford Thunderbird that had won the event with the year before, a car they dubbed “007.” Racing from the pole, Allison easily dominated and won the first segment, while Petty captured the second 30-lap tilt.
That set up the final, 10-lap battle for all the marbles. On the last lap, Earnhardt led, a position where he usually was unassailable. As the cars sailed off into Turn 3, though, Petty tapped the feared black No. 3 and sent Earnhardt's GM Goodwrench Chevrolet spinning helplessly into the wall.
That allowed Allison to briefly muscle his way past Petty, who came right back at him. Just as Allison crossed the start-finish line to claim victory, he and Petty collided. Allison’s car went hard into the outside wall, knocking the driver unconscious. The Alabama native was removed from his destroyed race car and airlifted to a Charlotte hospital.
“The wreck at the end was just as much my fault as it was his,” Petty said afterwards. “We were leaning on each other. I tried to chop him off, but if I had cut across in front of him, I would have ended up in the infield. At the end, he cut on me as I would have on him. We clipped when we came across the line.”
While Allison’s injuries were bad, they could have been much worse. He suffered a bruised lung and a moderate concussion, as well as multiple bruises and aches. He also claimed to have an out-of-body experience while unconscious and being worked on by the rescue squad. But he was back in the car the following week for the Coca-Cola 600, a little sore but otherwise fine.
Allison lost his best and favorite race car in the accident, but he won his second consecutive NASCAR Spring All-Star race, something no other driver has accomplished since. And Lowe’s Motor Speedway had another successful innovation, NASCAR’s first nighttime superspeedway race.
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.
SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star
Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action. Watch and Win!
