Post Tragic Death of Bobby Allison’s Son, his NASCAR Replacement Ruled Out Major Changes to the Team

With all the major advancements in safety, sometimes it is easy to forget that motor racing is still dangerous. Since its inception, there have been several fatalities in NASCAR. In the 1993 season, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison was the latest victim. Admittedly, his passing occurred away from the track and not in a car. He passed away because the helicopter he was piloting crashed.

Later on at the Talladega Superspeedway, the team roped in Robby Gordon to race in his stead. That turned out to be the only race he competed in that year, and he had a rough day in the office. Later on, he approached Robert Yates Racing and suggested fielding a second car for the next season. To be more specific, he was hoping to run at Daytona and at Indianapolis for the 1994 season.

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How did the NASCAR team owner respond to his suggestion?

Unfortunately, Robert Yates was unwilling to play ball and told him, “I told him, I’m a one car team”. In that 1993 season, After Gordon’s single race cameo, Lake Speed filled in for the next three races. During that time, he had the best finish of 7th place at the Michigan International Speedway. Finally, from Darlington onwards until the end of the season, Ernie Irvan took over driving duties.

This was pretty much an inspired move, as he triumphed at Martinsville and Charlotte. Irvan was so good that he made a comeback to the #28 car for the 1994 season, once again as a single-car team. Admittedly, Yates’ resolve to stay that way eventually broke out in 1995. This was when Irvan partnered with Dale Jarrett, though the former competed in a limited number of races.

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Since then, the team fielded two cars until the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series season. At the time, David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil were driving for the NASCAR Cup Series team.