“I Still Think About Him Every Single Day”: Dale Earnhardt’s Former Crew Chief Remembers NASCAR Legend Davey Allison; Emotional Fans Join In

Davey Allison would have been 64 years old on February 25 had fate not decided to take him from the world. The 1992 Daytona 500 champion, just 32 years old at the time, passed away on 13 July 1993 in a helicopter crash at Talladega. Racing analyst and former crew chief Larry McReynolds remembered him through a post on X.

McReynolds was Allison’s crew chief when he won the Daytona 500. He was also Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s crew chief when he won the Daytona 500 in 1998.

In his post, McReynolds wrote, “My close friend and driver I had so much success with, Davey Allison, would have been 64 years old today! I still think about him every single day! #RIP“

Allison’s full-time career ranged from 1987 to 1993. He started 191 races in this period and won 19 of them. He also had 66 top 5s and 92 top 10s. His death came at a time when he was 24th in all-time Cup Series victories. He would have been a worthy successor to his father, Bobby Allison, the leader of the Alabama Gang.

Memories of his race craft filled the eyes of fans as they responded to the melancholic message of McReynolds. One fan said, “he was one of my favorite drivers when I first started watching NASCAR… Davey and my all time favorite Terry Labonte.” Another added, “He is very missed so much, he was my favorite driver in the 90s, he was a fantastic driver too.”

Allison was piloting the helicopter only three weeks after purchasing it. He was going down to the Talladega Superspeedway to watch a practice session of David Bonnett, the son of Neil Bonnett. The aircraft came within a foot of the ground before shooting back up 25 feet, spinning violently and plummeting down with force. The crash caused severe head injuries to him.

Surgeries were done to relieve the pressure in his brain, but he never regained consciousness. He was declared dead in the Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Alabama.

One fan said, “I still vividly remember the day he passed. Very, very sad.” Davey’s father, Bobby, had suffered similar injuries to his head in 1988.

A crash at the Pocono Raceway had caused him to lose chunks of his memory and quit racing. One of the happiest moments of his life had come earlier that year when he won the Daytona 500 by defeating his son. He passed away in November 2024 at the age of 86. The Allisons will forever remain one of the greatest families in NASCAR.