Food City Officials announced today that legendary NASCAR driver Bobby Allison has been named the Honorary Starter for the March 22, 2009 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
"As the longest running sponsor of Bristol Motor Speedway, we felt Bobby Allison was the perfect choice for Honorary Starter, given his legendary career in NASCAR racing," said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. "We're honored to have one of the greatest names in motorsports representing our company for the upcoming Food City 500. The determination and loyalty he has shown to the sport throughout his lifetime and the many challenges he has faced is unsurpassed. Bobby Allison is a credit to the sport and our entire region."
Voted one of NASCAR racing's 50 greatest drivers, Allison's career was stellar and his performance at Bristol Motor Speedway was part of that. He posted four wins, 23 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes in 44 career races at BMS. Through that time, Allison showed his versatility by competing in eight different models of race cars.
Allison had two incredible periods of high performance at Bristol Motor Speedway. From March of 1969 through April of 1977, a period of 15 races, Allison finished lower than sixth only twice. He finished third or better, including posting his four career wins, in seven of those races. From April of 1979 through August of 1984, the dean of the Alabama Gang, posted 10 top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 12 races.
His last race at Bristol resulted in a fifth-place finish in April of 1988. Less than three months later, his career would be cut short as a result of injuries sustained in an accident at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.
Food City is Bristol Motor Speedway's longest running sponsor and the second longest in NASCAR motorsports. In 2007, the company signed a contract extension with the speedway to take their sponsorship through 2010. The Food City 500 gets under way at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, 2009. Qualifying for the event takes place on Friday, March 20th at 3:40 p.m. The Scotts Turf Builder 300 is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 21st, with qualifying getting underway at 9:40 a.m.
Tickets still are available for Ford Fan Friday ($5), Scotts Turf Builder 300 (Starting at $45) and Food City 500 (starting at $93) and may be purchased at www.bristoltix.com or by calling the BMS ticket office at (423) 989-6900.
