He Walks The Straight And Narrow

Because the spectators couldn't really see what was going on, they turned toward Turn 1 to see who would come out of it. There, still weaving away from the last spinning car, was Allison's white Camaro. The only thing he had hit was a bumper that had been ripped off a car. It had cut a tire, which he had to stop to change. Allison had been third out of the smoke; the pit stop dropped him to seventh, where he finished.

"Last night was a tough night," he said the next morning as he climbed into his Superstar. "Those were talented drivers, and they were in their environment and I was out of mine. I expose myself to getting dusted off really bad when I run these races. They're always gunning for me because I won the Daytona 500.

"I got 10th and seventh. But I got no complaints. I really enjoyed last night. I'll tell you something. A lot of people might not believe this, but if I had to retire without ever winning the NASCAR championship, I think I could put up with that without much problem at all. Really, I've thought about it. I don't think anybody else in the Grand National bracket enjoys racing so much that they could say that."

Allison closed the door of his airplane and fired up the engines. There was a short-track race in Hagerstown, Md. that night, and they were expecting him.