NASCAR awards Bobby Allison 85th Cup win from 1971

In a historic decision, NASCAR has officially awarded Bobby Allison with his 85th Cup Series victory, giving him sole possession of fourth all-time on the wins list. In the storied history of the sport, only one race went 53 years without an official winner.

It was the 1971 season and NASCAR was trying to cross-promote the Grand National and Grand American series. The Grand American series was a series comprised of “Pony” cars, Mustangs, Camaros, Javelins, Cougars, and Trans Ams.

In order to help promote the two series, NASCAR held a few races with both series racing one another at the same time. One race happened to be Bowman Gray in 1971.

Bobby Allison won the race in a Grand American car. It caused an uproar, as the Pony cars were seen to have a fuel mile advantage in a race like the one at Bowman Gray. Richard Petty was in second place in a Grand National car.

Due to the uproar, Allison was awarded the trophy and prize money, but not an official victory. That was, until now.

NASCAR has awarded Bobby Allison with the win from 1971, meaning he now has 85 career wins. This pushes Allison past Darrell Waltrip, and he only trails Richard Petty, David Pearson, and Jeff Gordon.

Here is Allison officially being awarded his 85th career win. A point of contention he has always held onto.