The August 6, 1971 race at Bowman Gray has finally been recognized as the 85th career win for Bobby Allison.
Allison won the race leading 138 of the 200 laps but did so in a Grand American car opposed to the Grand National (Cup Series). This was frowned upon as the Grand American cars were smaller.
Since Allison competed in both series he opted to run his smaller car and won the race gaining a trophy in victory lane.
“For 53 years, the Myers Brothers Memorial was the only race run by NASCAR that did not have an official winner,” said Jim France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “As we began preparations for the upcoming Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, the topic of that August 6, 1971 race returned to the forefront. We felt it was the right thing to officially recognize Bobby’s win and honor him as an 85-time NASCAR Cup Series winner. We are grateful for Bobby’s lifetime contributions to NASCAR.”
Allison now sits behind Richard Petty (200), David Pearson (105), and Jeff Gordon (95) on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list breaking a tie with Darrell Waltrip (84).