For over half a century, controversy and debate surrounded a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bowman Gray Stadium on August 6, 1971.
It was one of six races that year featuring a mixed field with Cup cars and the smaller Grand American cars. Bobby Allison chose to drove a Grand American ’70 Ford Mustang that day and ended up beating all of the Cup stars, leading 138 of 200 laps with Richard ‘The King’ Petty a few seconds behind in second place.
While Allison went to Victory Lane and hoisted the trophy like any other week, the win was never actually recognized in the record books. In fact, no one was awarded the Cup win for that race despite it being an official part of the 1971 schedule. The fact that he wasn’t driving a Cup car in the mixed field meant that he wasn’t credited as a Cup Series winner.
Bobby Allison being recognized for 85 NASCAR Cup wins
Photo by: NASCAR Media
Allison has not been quiet on his views on the race, having been adamant about having 85 Cup wins — not 84. It’s even more important since being granted that win would break a tie with another NASCAR Hall of Famer. Well, it’s finally happened. NASCAR has dug into the record books, grabbed some white out and made it right. At 86 years old, Allison takes sole possession of fourth on the all-time wins list after being tied with Darrell Waltrip since 1992.
The victory also changes another fact in NASCAR history: The first driver to win a Cup race in a Ford Mustang was Brad Keselowski in 2019, but that honor now retroactively goes to Allison.
Allison, the patriarch of the Alabama Gang, won the 1983 NASCAR Cup Series title and was also inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011. This also comes at some interesting timing as Bowman Gray — the site of this controversial result — is returning to the Cup schedule in 2025. The historic short track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina will host ‘The Clash’ in 2025, which serves as the unofficial kick-off to the new season.
It will be the first Cup race at Bowman Gray since that controversial 1971 event where Allison didn’t get credit for a win that was rightfully his. As the newly crowned most recent Cup winner at Bowman Gray, he will surely be there next February when the green flag flies.
Updated All-Time Wins List
| Ranking | Driver Name | Total wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Petty | 200 |
| 2 | David Pearson | 105 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 93 |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | 85 |
| 5 | Darrell Waltrip | 84 |
| 6 | Jimmie Johnson | 83 |
| 7 | Cale Yarborough | 83 |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt | 76 |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 63 |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | 60 |
