The Allison Brothers Survive

David Carl Allison (b. February 21, 1961) is a retired NASCAR driver with one championship, 38 wins and current owner of Allison Racing alongside his brother, Clifford, father Bobby, and uncle Donnie. Davey owns 40% of Allison Racing, Clifford owns 35% along with their father Bobby who owns 20% and uncle Donnie who owns the remaining 5%. Allison Racing bought out the assets and owners points of Yates Racing after the 2004 season. Davey is also the son of Bobby Allison, nephew of Donnie Allison, and brother of Clifford Allison. Davey is also a broadcaster for NBC Sports, working with Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte.

Early Life
Davey was born to Bobby and Judy Allison and was the eldest child in the family. Growing up, Allison played football, but like many children of racers, he was destined for racing. He began working for his father's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team after graduating high school, and would work after-hours on his own race car, a Chevy Nova built by Davey and a group of his friends affectionately known as the "Peach Fuzz Gang". He began his career in 1979 at Birmingham International Raceway and notched his first win in just his sixth start. He became a regular winner at BIR and by 1983, was racing in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) series. Allison won both ARCA events at his "home track", Talladega Superspeedway in 1983, and was named ARCA Rookie of the Year in 1984, placing second in the series title. That same year, he married his first wife, Deborah.

Allison continued racing in the ARCA series in 1985 and eventually notched eight wins in the series, four at Talladega Superspeedway. He also began competing in some of NASCAR's lower divisions and in July 1985, car owner Hoss Ellington gave him his first chance to drive a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car in the Talladega 500. Allison qualified Ellington's Chevrolet 22nd and finished 10th in his first Winston Cup start. This impressive showing earned Davey more Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opportunities in 1986 where he would sub for injured friend and fellow Alabama Gang member Neil Bonnett in Junior Johnson's No. 12 Budweiser Chevy.

Initial years with Robert Yates Racing (1989–1991)
Davey Allison's 1989 season did not start well. A year after he and his father's one-two Daytona 500 finish, Davey started a disappointing 16th, then was involved in an early incident with Geoff Bodine that sent his car careening into the sand bar separating the track's backstretch from Lake Lloyd. The car made one slow, complete, roll-over with Davey eventually restarting the car and driving it back to the pits. He drove the damaged, hood-less car to a 25th-place finish and had a heated exchange with Bodine following the race (the first of several exchanges with other drivers during his career).

The team rebounded at Rockingham and when the series moved to Talladega in May for the Winston 500, Davey had scored one top-10 and three top-5 finishes. Davey started on the pole at Talladega and got his first win of 1989, his second victory in Talladega's spring event. After the race, Davey stood sixth in the Winston Cup Championship standings, but did not win again until the next restrictor plate race, the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, his last win of the season. By the end of the season, Davey had collected seven top-five and 13 top-ten finishes along with one pole position to go with the two wins. He slipped to 11th in the final Winston Cup standings, a disappointment over the previous season. However, Davey would marry his second wife, Liz, during the season, and their first child, Krista, was born prior to the 1990 season. The 1990 season did not start much better than the 1989 season and by the sixth race at Bristol, Davey was a disappointing 17th in the Winston Cup standings. A poor qualifying run had the team pitting in the backstretch pits, which usually doomed a team's chances of winning the race. But Robert Yates decided against pitting on the final caution flag and Davey scored his second short-track win in a thrilling photo-finish with Mark Martin, winning by just eight inches. But the win did not change the team's fortunes and after an ill-handling car at Dover required Davey to ask for relief from fellow Alabama driver Hut Stricklin, Robert Yates decided to hire "Suitcase" Jake Elder as the team's crew chief. Davey won the fall event at Charlotte Motor Speedway but finished the season 13th in the final Winston Cup standings. He again posted two wins, but only five top-five and 10 top-ten finishes.

1991
In 1991 Allison was given a career-long contract with Robert Yates, assuring Davey would be there for all his ups and downs. The 1991 season began with much promise. Davey won the pole for the Daytona 500 and was in contention for the win until the final laps. After a late race restart, eventual winner Ernie Irvan passed Dale Earnhardt for the lead. Davey tried to follow Irvan around Earnhardt but could not make the pass and the two drivers battled side-by-side for a few laps. As the cars came off turn two, Earnhardt's car spun, collecting Allison and Kyle Petty. Davey was unable to continue and finished a disappointing 15th. From there, things went downhill. Davey finished 12th at Richmond, 16th at Rockingham, then crashed hard early in the Motorcraft 500 at Atlanta, finishing 40th. Davey was openly feuding with crew chief Elder, and Allison threatened to quit the team if Elder stayed. After the poor result at Atlanta, Robert Yates decided that he had to make a change at crew chief.

Elder was fired, and Larry McReynolds was hired away from the Kenny Bernstein team to replace him. In his first race with McReynolds at the helm, Allison finished second at the 1991 Transouth 400. A third-place finish followed at Bristol, then a sixth at North Wilkesboro and an eighth at Martinsville. The team finished 22nd at Talladega due to a large accident triggered by Ernie Irvan but there was no doubt the team was much improved and was destined for bigger things.

Two weeks later, Davey dominated The Winston all-star race at Charlotte, and continued his domination by winning the Coca-Cola 600 the following week, leading 263 of the race's 400 laps. Two races later, Davey won his first road course event at then Sears Point International Raceway where he was awarded the victory after Ricky Rudd was penalized by NASCAR for spinning Allison out on the final lap. He won again at Michigan then finished third in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. At the halfway point of the 1991 season, Davey had climbed to fifth in the Winston Cup point standings.

After finishing 14th at Pocono, the series moved to Talladega. As the race wound down, Davey Allison was poised for yet another win behind leader Dale Earnhardt. But Davey was unable to get drafting help from fellow Ford Motor Company drivers and he slipped to ninth place after attempting to pass Earnhardt for the lead. In his post-race interview, Allison stated "All we needed was three inches to clear Earnhardt, when you can't get help from a fellow Ford driver, that's pitiful". In a fit of rage after the race, Allison punched a wall in the team's transporter, breaking his wrist. The injury failed to slow him down, however as he finished a remarkable 10th on the road course at Watkins Glen, then was second at Michigan, a photo-finish in which Dale Jarrett scored his first Winston Cup victory. Davey scored back-to-back victories at Rockingham and Phoenix and entered the final race at Atlanta second in the Winston Cup standings. But a dead battery in that race relegated him to a 17th-place finish, dropping him to third in the final standings, only four points behind Ricky Rudd. Dale Earnhardt won the championship. The final tally of the 1991 season for Davey Allison; five wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-ten finishes, and three pole positions. It was also during the 1991 season that Davey and Liz welcomed their second child, a son, Robert Grey Allison. With Larry McReynolds at the helm, Davey Allison entered the 1992 season as a legitimate championship contender.

1992
Statistically, 1992 was Davey Allison's best season in Winston Cup racing. Davey started sixth in the 1992 Daytona 500 but was probably not quite as fast as the Junior Johnson teammates of Bill Elliott and Sterling Marlin. But the race would change dramatically on lap 92 when Elliott, Marlin, and Ernie Irvan triggered a multi-car crash at the front of the pack. Fourteen cars were eliminated, but Allison—and eventual runner-up Morgan Shepherd—somehow made it through the mess. He would dominate the event, lead 127 laps to join his father as a Daytona 500 winner. Allison also holds the distinction of being the only driver to lead the Daytona 500 at halfway and go on to win. As of 2015, no Daytona 500 winner has led the halfway lap and gone on to win.

Bill Elliott would rebound to win the next four events, but Allison was not far behind in either event, posting four top-five finishes to maintain his lead in the points. A hard crash in the Food City 500 at Bristol left him with a bruised shoulder, but the following weekend he had Jimmy Hensley on hand for relief just in case Allison could not go the distance. Allison managed to race through the pain and go the distance and won at North Wilkesboro after beating Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine off of pit road with a fast pit stop and leading the remaining laps en route to victory. Another hard crash at Martinsville re-injured his ribs, but Allison rebounded yet again, leading a contingent of Fords to victory in the Winston 500 at Talladega using the same car that he won the Daytona 500 with. It would be his third victory at Talladega. The win also put him in position to win the Winston Million if he could finish off the "small slam" with a win in either the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, or the Southern 500 at Darlington.

Next up was The Winston all-star race. One year removed from his domination of that event and the Coca-Cola 600, Davey was ready to take the spotlight again. But this time around, there was more focus on the event itself. Over the winter, the Musco Lighting company had installed a state-of-the-art lighting system at then Charlotte Motor Speedway. Billed as "One Hot Night" by The Nashville Network, which was to broadcast the event, The Winston was the first superspeedway race to be held under the lights. Davey would drive the same car that he used to dominate the event one year earlier, affectionately known as "007".

In the final, 10-lap segment of the race, Dale Earnhardt led, followed by Kyle Petty and Davey. In the third turn on the final lap, Petty nudged Earnhardt's car and the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet spun. Davey took advantage of the contact and jumped into the lead. But Petty charged back and as Davey crossed the start-finish line to win the race, the two cars came together, sending the driver's side of Davey's car hard into the outside wall in a shower of sparks. An unconscious Allison was taken from his car and airlifted to a Charlotte hospital. The crash left him with a concussion, bruised lung, and a battered and bruised body.

His car, "007", was totaled. Allison would later claim to have sustained an out-of-body experience after the crash. He claimed to have awoke to see his crashed car below him as he rose away from it, and to have turned his attention away from the frantic work of the emergency workers to a bright light above, which faded and left him in darkness until he awoke later in the hospital. McReynolds stated during the FOX telecasts that the first words from Allison when he awoke in the hospital were "did we win"? McReynolds told Allison "Yes Davey we won". Victory celebrations went on even though the driver was not present and all crew members later went to the hospital to be with their driver.

The wreck did not deter Allison. He finished fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 the following week despite the injuries and maintained his points lead. He then finished 11th at Dover, 28th at Sears Point, and fifth at Pocono. Still hanging onto the points lead and his body healing, Davey won the pole and dominated the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan, leading 158 of the race's 200 laps. The first half of the season ended with Davey posting a 10th-place finish in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. At the halfway point of the season, Allison had a 46-point lead over second place Bill Elliott and a 134-point lead over third place Alan Kulwicki, and had held the points lead since the first race of the season, despite the injuries and setbacks.

That would all change as the series went back to Pocono. Davey won the pole for the event and led 115 of the first 149 laps. But a lengthy pit stop during a caution flag sent him to the middle of the pack. On lap 150, Allison was charging back through the pack, followed closely by Darrell Waltrip. The two cars made contact and Davey went sliding into the grass off Pocono's "tunnel turn". The car went airborne and began a series of violent flips before landing on top of an infield guardrail. Miraculously, Davey survived the crash. He was airlifted to the hospital with a severe concussion, along with a broken arm, wrist, and collar bone. His 33rd-place finish left him nine points behind Bill Elliott for the series title, but that seemed insignificant at the moment. Especially traumatizing was the fact that Pocono was the site of Davey's father Bobby's career-ending crash a few years earlier. In fact, many worried fans wondered if the younger Allison's career was over.

Davey arrived at Talladega the following week wearing dark shades to hide eyes severely bruised in the Pocono crash, Allison famously told a reporter asking to see his eyes at the press conference, "You can see it, but its ugly". His arm was in a cast that allowed him to drive, and velcro attachments to his glove and the car's shifter knob helped him drive with less exertion, but Bobby Hillin, Jr. would relieve Davey after the initial laps of the DieHard 500. Under NASCAR rules, the driver who takes the green flag is the one assigned to the points for all drivers that drive that car during the race. Hillin drove the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford Thunderbird to a third-place finish at Talladega, helping Davey and the team keep pace with Elliott. The team was a strong contender for the win until suffering a jack failure on a pit stop. The following week, veteran road racer Dorsey Schroeder would relieve Allison, but he could only manage a 20th-place finish.

With his body healed enough to allow him to drive an entire race, Davey headed to Michigan where he had dominated the track's earlier event. But bad luck struck as the Michigan events began. While practicing for the weekend's Busch Series race, Davey's younger brother, Clifford crashed hard in the third and fourth turns of Michigan International Speedway. He would survive, but was in the hospital for a few weeks and was out the rest of the Busch season. Davey drove to a fifth-place finish in the Champion Spark Plug 400. The following weekend, he crashed again at Bristol, finishing 30th. Although still in second place in the Winston Cup standings, he now trailed leader Bill Elliott by 109 points.

Davey's chance to win the Winston Million was up next as the series headed to Darlington for the Mountain Dew Southern 500, which was worth both a million dollar bonus if he could win the Small Slam, but moreover, become the fourth driver to win the Career Grand Slam. There was a promotion for the event as fake Million Dollar Bills were printed with Allison's face on them were handed out for fans. Davey led 72 laps of the event and was in contention to win, but soon after the leaders pitted for tires and fuel, rain halted the race with 69 laps left. Instead it was Darrell Waltrip, gambling that the rains would come, did not pit and was leading the race when it was red flagged. He was declared the winner as darkness fell and the rains continued. Waltrip, who had long feuded with the entire Allison clan (Bobby and Donnie; ironically, Waltrip had replaced Donnie Allison with the DiGard team in 1975 and was a relief driver for one of Donnie's wins at Talladega), sat next to his car on pit road in lawn chair and held a colorful umbrella, gleefully joking that the rain shower was worth "one million dollars" to him as he became the fourth driver to finish a Career Grand Slam. (This was the second time Waltrip prevented a driver from clinching a Small Slam; in 1985, he stopped Bill Elliott's 1985 run at a Small Slam at Charlotte and Elliott has yet to win that leg of the Grand Slam; Elliott would take the Small Slam at Darlington in September; Dale Earnhardt stopped Waltrip's Small Slam and Career Grand Slam attempt three years previously at Darlington.) Davey finished fifth and was now 119 points behind Elliott, who finished third.

Allison and Elliott continued their drive for the championship after Darlington as the two kept pace with each other. But beginning with the Goody's 500 at Martinsville on September 28, Elliott's hold on the points lead began to slip. He finished 30th in that event while Allison finished 16th. Then at North Wilkesboro, Allison posted an 11th-place finish, while Elliott finished 26th. Back at Charlotte, Allison finished a disappointing 19th, but Elliott finished 30th and there were now four drivers within 100 points of Elliott...Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, and Harry Gant. Martin and Kulwicki finished first and second respectively at Charlotte, and Kulwicki was continuing a late season charge. Three races prior to Charlotte, Kulwicki had crashed and finished 34th at Dover leaving him 278 points behind Elliott and in fourth place in the standings.

Elliott's skid stopped temporarily at Rockingham where he finished fourth. Davey finished 10th and Kulwicki 12th and entering the final two races of the 1992 season, Davey was 70 points behind Elliott in second, with Kulwicki 85 points behind in third. But Davey's fortunes changed dramatically at Phoenix as he won the event by beating his closest rivals off of pit road, and Elliott finished 31st. Davey now had the points lead for the first time since his violent Pocono crash, and was 30 points ahead of Kulwicki, and 40 ahead of Elliott, who had slipped to third in the standings. Also in contention to win the championship as the series moved to the final race at Atlanta were Harry Gant (fourth place, 97 points behind), Kyle Petty (fifth place, 98 points behind), and Mark Martin (sixth place, 113 points behind).

The 1992 Hooters 500 would be a milestone race in NASCAR Winston Cup history. It would be the final race of Richard Petty's career, as well as the first for future Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon. Couple that with the closest championship race in history, and the race was destined to be a classic. Davey Allison entered the race needing only to finish fifth or better to win the Winston Cup. A first lap incident involving Rick Mast caused minor damage to Davey's car, and he battled through much of the race to stay in the top ten.

Meanwhile, Elliott and Kulwicki were staging a battle for the ages, battling for and swapping the lead through much of the event. Late in the race, Davey had finally managed to reach the top five and was in position to win the championship when Ernie Irvan lost control of his car on the frontstretch on lap 286. Davey managed to avoid Irvan's spinning car, which plowed into the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet Lumina. Allison's incredible 1992 season was over, his championship hopes fulfilled as Elliott and Allison finished first and second in the race respectively. Davey won the championship by leading one more lap than Elliott (103 to 102).

1993
1992 had been a heartbreaking year for Davey Allison and the Robert Yates Racing team in more ways than one; they had to be encouraged by their run for the championship. But 1993 opened on a sour note with Allison finishing 28th at Daytona. That finish was followed by a 16th at Rockingham, but Davey rebounded to win at Richmond the following week. The next race at Atlanta was delayed a week by a blizzard that blanketed much of the Southeast. Morgan Shepherd won the race and Davey finished 13th. He then posted an 11th at Darlington. Despite the early season struggles, Davey was sixth in the Winston Cup standings, while defending series champ Kulwicki was ninth.

Davey Allison had debuted in the International Race of Champions (IROC) in 1992, but his injuries forced him to miss the last two races. 1993 was shaping up to be a far better year for Davey, with a second place at Daytona and a victory at Darlington, giving him a large points lead.

Three days after Kulwicki's death in an airplane crash, Davey Allison finished fifth in an emotional race at Bristol. He followed that finish with a fourth at North Wilkesboro, second at Martinsville, seventh at Talladega, and 15th at Sears Point. He finished a disappointing 30th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, but rebounded at Dover, finishing third. He was sixth at Pocono, but finished 35th at Michigan and 31st at Daytona. Halfway through the 1993 season, Davey was fifth in the point standings, but was 323 points behind leader Dale Earnhardt. Still, Davey and the Robert Yates team were confident that they could put their early season struggles and inconsistency behind them and could make a run for the championship in the second half. The inaugural race at New Hampshire International Speedway proved the team's optimism was not unfounded. Davey led 38 laps of the event and finished third behind Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin.

Sidelined By A Helicopter Crash
On July 12, 1993, Allison boarded his newly acquired Hughes 369HS helicopter to fly to Talladega Superspeedway to watch family friend Neil Bonnett and his son David test a car for David's Busch Series debut. He picked up another family friend, racer Red Farmer, en route to the track. Allison was attempting to land the helicopter inside a fenced-in area of the track infield when the craft nosed up suddenly, then crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the crash on Allison's inexperience in helicopters, coupled with the decision to attempt a landing. Neil Bonnett freed the semi-conscious Allison from the wreckage, but Farmer was unresponsive and could not be freed until paramedics arrived. Allison went on to a lengthy but successful recovery, spanning the rest of the NASCAR season, but Farmer never regained consciousness after sustaining a critical head injury. He was pronounced dead at 7:00 a.m. the next morning by a neurosurgeon at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham after a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain proved unsuccessful. During the remaining 1993 season, Ernie Irvan would substitute for Davey in the #28 car, winning 3 races throughout the remaining season and finishing the #28 8th in points.

1994
Allison returned, once again cheating death. For 1994 another Allison would be making his debut; Davey's brother, Clifford, was to drive part time for Robert Yates in the #88, as a teammate to his brother. The Alabama Brothers as they were deemed, had their first race together at Daytona, with Davey qualifying 3rd, as well as Clifford making his debut starting 13th. Throughout the race Davey couldn't be stopped; he raced inside of Elliott for 6 laps before finally clearing him on the high side and he passed a very determined Earnhardt with 8 to go. With 4 to go Dale Jarrett made a charge, but Davey blocked him and held him off for those final laps. Davey won the 1994 Daytona 500, and his brother Clifford finished 8th. Davey also won and additional 9 races throughout the season en-route to a 4th place finish in points.

1995
Clifford and Davey both drove for Robert Yates, with Clifford now driving full-time. Davey started the season finishing 5th in the Daytona 500, right behind Clifford who finished 4th. The two worked together throughout the race. At Talladega Davey had victory in sight but a tire cut down with 3 to go, causing him to finish 11th. At Martinsville, Clifford got his first win of his Winston Cup career, with Davey finishing 6th and joining his brother to celebrate in victory lane. Davey won 6 races and Clifford won 8 races in his first full-time season. Overall, 1995 ended with Clifford 5th in points and Davey in 9th. Also, Dale Jarrett was to drive for Yates in 1995, but the deal fell through, and so Dale signed a lifetime deal with Joe Gibbs Racing to stay in the #18 car.

1996 - Davey's Retirement
With old injuries bringing new pain to Davey Allison, he finally couldn't bear doing 500 mile races for an entire NASCAR season. Davey needed relief from backup drivers 19 times throughout the season, including Jay Sauter, Dick Trickle, and Rich Bickle, and only won 2 races; one at Pocono and one at Richmond. Davey announced he could simply no longer take the pain of driving, and would have to retire at the end of the 1996 season. Fans of Davey held a huge celebration of his relatively short, yet successful career. Davey Allison posted 2 wins and came in 18th in points standings. Clifford got 7 wins that season and came 8th in points.

1997
With Davey retired, Clifford took over driving the #28 car, with the #88 car ceasing operations. Clifford had one of his greatest seasons, winning his first Winston Cup championship after getting 13 wins in one season.

1998
Clifford had ten wins in 1998, and beat out Jeff Gordon for his second consecutive championship. He finished second to Dale Earnhardt in the 1998 Daytona 500. Also, Kenny Irwin, Jr. moved to the Cup Series to drive the #27 car.

1999
Clifford had 12 wins for 1999, including the Daytona 500, and won a third championship, edging out Dale Jarrett..

2000
Clifford won seven races and won his fourth consecutive championship.

2001
Clifford began a low in his career, even though the season started out well for him. Clifford qualified 5th for the Daytona 500, and ran near the front the entire day. On the last lap, Clifford was stuck behind Dale Earnhardt and was trying to get around him, when, coming out of turn 4, tragedy struck; Clifford went to the inside of Earnhardt, just before the latter came down and cut across the right-front of Clifford's #28 car, turning the #3 car down towards the infield from the left-rear contact. Earnhardt spun up the track when he tried to correct the car, and struck the wall at the exact same time he got hit on the right side by Ken Shrader. Clifford would go on to finish 4th, but after the death of Earnhardt was announced he cried non-stop for hours post-race, even claiming responsibility for the wreck despite the fact he couldn't have prevented it. This seemed to have major consequences on Clifford's attitude towards driving, and he finished the 2001 season with only 3 wins and came in 17th in points.

2002
Clifford did not have any wins in 2002, and even had his brother Davey try driving as a substitute driver in his old ride again. Davey got one win in 2002 in place of Clifford, and that meant the retired Allison had more wins that year then the current driver did. Clifford's best finish was 3rd at Bristol. Clifford, with his brother's one win, finished 28th in points.

2003
Clifford announced 2003 would be his last full-time season, as he didn't want to drive anymore. He had 2 wins, one at Texas and one at Phoenix and finished 22nd in points.

2004
2004 saw more of Davey Allison's success than Clifford's, as Clifford only drove for 6 of the entire season's events. Davey won 3 races in place of his brother, while Clifford still went winless. Due to Davey's 3 wins, Clifford technically finished 7th in points standings. Clifford called retirement at Homestead, as the season ended.

Allison Racing
With Clifford retired after 2004 the Allisons needed a new revenue stream, so they bought the team Davey and Clifford had previously driven for; Robert Yates Racing. Once they bought the team the Allisons switched to Chevrolet and hired past champions and new rookies for Allison Racing, including Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett, who had driven for Robert Yates for many years, Elliott Sadler, who was considered an up-and-coming star of the sport, and Kyle Busch, who came over from the Nationwide Series. Paul Menard was hired to drive the revived #88 car, Jeff Burton was also hired at the beginning of the 2008 season as a replacement to Rudd after Rudd retired, and they also fielded, part-time, from 2010 to 2013, the #58 of Jason Leffler, who died in 2013 in a sprint car wreck. After Jeff Burton retired in 2013, Allison Racing hired Ty Dillon as his replacement. As of 2017 Davey owns 40% of Allison Racing, Clifford owns 35% along with their father Bobby who owns 20% and uncle Donnie who owns the remaining 5%. Their current lineup is the #08 of Elliott Sadler, the #28 of Ty Dillon, the #38 of Kyle Busch, the #88 of Paul Menard, and the #98 of Josh Wise.

The Day: Remembering Dale Earnhardt
Clifford was one of those interviewed in The Day: Remembering Dale Earnhardt. He said it was "the worst event of my life." and stated that he "never meant to wreck Earnhardt, he just came down infront of me and there was no time to react." He cried throughout the documentary, and at one point they stopped filming and had to wait for him to calm down before making a new segment.