Alabama racing legends honored ahead of race weekend at Talladega
Race weekend is here at Talladega, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame kicked off the weekend by honoring members of the Alabama Gang and the Allison family.
Friday afternoon, the festivities began with the unveiling of the Red Farmer Tribute Car, a car designed to honor Farmer's legendary racing career.
Video below: Racing legend Red Farmer honored in Talladega
米兰体育 13 caught up with Farmer after the unveiling to talk about that legendary career. Even at 92 years old, Farmer said he's not done yet.
"I'm just still going," he said. "We've all been racing for many years, we won a lot of championships, a lot of races, and it's been a great career for me. I don't regret anything I've done in the last 76 years, and I still enjoy racing now. I go over to my shop and work on my cars."
After that, the ribbon was cut on the new Allison Room in the Alabama Gang wing of the Hall of Fame. The new room holds memorabilia honoring Bobby, Donnie, David and Clifford Allison and their racing careers.
Video below: The Allison Room is unveiled at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
Of the four, Donnie is the only one still living, but many members of the Allison family attended the ceremony to see the new room. After touring the room, Donnie was happy to see his family honored.
"What I've seen, it's astonishing," he said. "It's hard to tell you what I feel right now."
Allison said when they all started racing, he never imagined they would accomplish so much.
"Kenny Andrews, the guy that owned the car, said to Bobby, 'Who should I get to drive my cars?' [Bobby] said 'Donnie,' so I started my modified career in Montgomery, Alabama," Donnie Allison said. "We never had any idea we were going to build something like this, of course, we wanted to win as many races as possible."
Video below: NASCAR driver Joey Logano on being inducted into the Talladega Walk of Fame
Win, they did. Bobby Allison currently holds the fourth place spot on NASCAR's all-time win list for its premier series, and other Alabama Gang members are still well known for their wins on the track.
According to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Red Farmer won over 700 races in his career, leaving a legacy Farmer is proud of.
"You get a legacy when you've been around for a long time, and I raced for 75 years," Farmer said.
Though he doesn't compete as much anymore, Farmer still spends his free time with racecars.
"Now I go over to my shop and work on my cars," he said. "In fact, I'm going to change engines next week, put a new engine in my car for the dirt track, and keep going. It's what really keeps me going."
Sunday, before the checkered flag drops on the Jack Link's 500, Bobby Allison's grandson will drive one of his grandfather's cars around the track for the pace lap, to continue honoring the Allison legacy.