Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 13, 1994 TAG: 9402130136
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
The man who has endured more heartbreak than any racer in modern times did not hide Saturday. He came back to the speedway, and when the reporters and cameramen descended on him outside the drivers lounge next to the Winston Cup garage, he stood up to the onslaught.
Last July, when Bonnett was almost inconsolable in the wake of the death of Allison's son, Davey, it was Allison who had pulled Bonnett out of it.
"You've got a lot of things coming up. Don't cancel a one of them," Bobby Allison had told him.
"What do you mean?" Bonnett had asked.
"That's the only way you'll get through it," Allison said. "Don't cancel a thing."
And now, in the wake of Bonnett's death, Bobby Allison was following his own advice. He faced the toughest questions with unwavering grace and dignity.
"I don't have any answers," he said, "but I continue to rely on the fact that I don't have to like it, but I do have to accept it. As long as we have life, we're going to have death."
Yes, he said, he had seen it all when Bonnett crashed head-on into the turn 4 wall at about 12:45 p.m. Friday.
"I was up on [top of] the truck, and I saw the thing happen," Allison said.
Although fellow Alabaman Stanley Smith said Friday that he thought Bonnett lost control because he passed a slower car, Allison said, "There wasn't any other car close by. Kyle [Petty] was a few hundred feet behind him.
"It was one of those situations. I'm sure it was affected by the wind. I'm sure it was affected by his desire to do the best he could do. Maybe if he wasn't full throttle, it wouldn't have been that bad. But I don't think there is anybody out there who would be out there less than full throttle.
"When they said he was serious, and they had taken him from the crash right to Halifax [Medical Center], I felt it was quite serious. I went to the emergency room waiting area and waited for Susan [Bonnett's wife]."
Allison waited there throughout the long afternoon, sitting under a tree outside the hospital with the Rev. Max Helton, the circuit's minister, and other close friends.
"Bobby was a rock for everybody," said Darlene Patterson, who was there with him. "Only Bobby Allison could put it all in perspective. He has that quality. His demeanor - just his presence - was so comforting."
In the wake of the deaths of his two sons - Clifford in a driving crash in 1992 and Davey in a helicopter crash last year - Allison has carried several prayers in his breast pocket.
"After their deaths, a paraplegic who is a member of his fan club wrote two prayers - one for Clifford and one for Davey. He took them out of his pocket and I read them aloud," Patterson said. "And we talked about all the memories we had."
Allison said Saturday that he did not encourage Bonnett's return to racing but did not try to talk him out of it. He has experienced the same deep yearning since his career-ending head injury in a near-fatal racing accident in 1988.
"Life just has to go on, and every day you have to pursue what you feel you have to be doing," he said.
Would this affect his own desire to return to the driver's seat?
"That is an unfair question at the moment," he said. "I don't know how I feel about it."
For Dale Earnhardt and his car owner, Richard Childress, who were two of Bonnett's closest friends, it was not as easy to face the prospect of talking about the tragedy. For one thing, they had to concentrate on Daytona 500 pole qualifying. And they did a good job of it. Earnhardt qualified on the outside pole.
Earnhardt and Childress issued a joint statement but generally avoided talking about Bonnett's death.
"Yesterday, we went on with the job we had in front of us because we were in shock," the statement said. "You don't feel anything when you're in shock. You're numb. But after a night to think about it, you remember the racing and the hunting trips and fishing trips and the things that make people good friends.
"Then, when it's gone and you realize all you have left are those memories, it all comes crashing down. It hits you. That's what has happened."
Although Earnhardt graciously posed for pictures with fans and signed autographs, he begged off on questions about Bonnett.
"I'd rather wait," he said. "I'm going to talk about it, but I need to get through these two days here."
Immediately after qualifying, Earnhardt and Allison flew to Alabama to be with the Bonnett family.
by CNB