Neil Bonnett

Lawrence Neil Bonnett
Born	July 30, 1946(1946-07-30) Hueytown, Alabama
Died	February 11, 1994(1994-02-11) (aged 47)
Cause of death	Race car crash during practice for the 1994 Daytona 500
Awards	Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame (1997) Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2001)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
362 races run over 18 years
Best finish	4th - 1985 (Winston Cup)
First race	1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Nashville 420 (Nashville)
Last race	1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Hooters 500 (Atlanta)
First win	1977 Capital City 400 (Richmond)
Last win	1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Goodwrench 500 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles 18 156 20

1983 racecar.

Lawrence Neil Bonnett (July 30, 1946 - February 11, 1994) was a NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. The Alabama native currently ranks 35th in all-time NASCAR Cup victories.^[1] He appeared in the 1983 film Stroker Ace and the 1990 film Days of Thunder. He was a color commentator in the years up until his death.

NASCAR career

Neil Bonnett began his NASCAR career as a protégé of 1983 Winston Cup champion Bobby Allison, working on the team's cars. He later became part of the famous "Alabama Gang" that included himself, Red Farmer and the Allison family: father Bobby, brother Donnie and, later, son Davey. He began driving in NASCAR in 1974 and earned his first victory in 1977 at the Capital City 400 in Richmond, Virginia driving for Harry Hyde/Jim Stacy Racing. He had another victory in 1977 at the Los Angeles Times 500, which would be the last Dodge win in NASCAR until 2001. Many in racing circles thought 1978 would be his year to dominate, but troubles with his cars (the new for 78 Dodge Magnum) and financial problems between Hyde and Stacy caused his cars to fail and to drop out of many races. In 1979 he hooked up with the Wood Brothers Racing Team and got his career back on track with three victories. He later won back-to-back World 600s (NASCAR's longest race, now the Coca-Cola 600) and back-to-back Busch Clash (now Bud Shootout) victories in 1983 and '84, including his first in which he did not win a single pole from the previous season, but was selected as a wild card entry.^[2]

In 1984, Bonnett joined Junior Johnson's team, becoming a teammate to Darrell Waltrip. In 1985, Bonnett had one of his best seasons, finishing fourth in the points standings while Waltrip went on to win his third championship.

Bonnett participated in International Race of Champions (IROC) during three seasons (1979, 1980, and 1984), and finished second twice.

On April 1, 1990, Neil Bonnett suffered a life-threatening crash during the TranSouth 500 at Darlington, South Carolina when his car hit the water barrels in front of pit road drivers-side first. Left with amnesia and dizziness, Bonnett retired from racing and turned to television, becoming a race color commentator for TNN, CBS Sports, and TBS Sports, and hosting the TV show Winners for TNN.

However, Bonnett still desired to continue racing. In 1992, he began testing cars for good friends Dale Earnhardt and car owner Richard Childress. Cleared to race again in 1993 and upon Earnhardt's suggestion, Childress gave Bonnett a ride for the 1993 DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway which was numbered 31 and sponsored by Mom and Pop's, one of Earnhardt's associate sponsors. But Bonnett's comeback race was marred by a crash in which his car spun, became airborne, and crashed into the spectator fence. Bonnett was uninjured and called the rest of the race from the CBS broadcast booth after being cleared at the infield care center. He would also start the final race of the 1993 season in Atlanta, but he dropped out after just three laps. The reason the team gave for removing the car from the race was a blown engine, however Bonnett was teamed with points leader Dale Earnhardt, and the car was retired to assist Earnhardt in winning the season's championship. Earnhardt needed to maximize his finishing position, and by Bonnett quitting the race he was assured of those three championship points. That would be Bonnett's final cup start of his career.

Death

Despite the setbacks, Bonnett was encouraged because he had secured a ride and sponsorship for at least six races in the 1994 season with car owner James Finch, including the season opening Daytona 500, for Phoenix Racing. But on February 11, 1994, during the first practice session for the 1994 Daytona 500, Bonnett's car suffered a right front tire failure in the track's fourth turn. Bonnett's car hit the outside wall nearly head-on. Bonnett was taken to nearby Halifax Medical Center, but he had died on impact. He is buried in Pleasant Grove's cemetery, Forest Grove Memorial Gardens. A road called "Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive" in his hometown honors him, along with fellow native Davey Allison, who died a year earlier.

When Brad Keselowski scored Phoenix Racing's first Sprint Cup win 15 years later at the 2009 Aaron's 499, Finch dedicated the win to Bonnett.

See also

• List of famous NASCAR drivers
• List of NASCAR fatal accidents

References

1. ^ Sprint Cup / Nextel Cup / Winston Cup all time Victory Records
2. ^ From 1979 until 1997, and again in 2001, drivers who had the fastest times in second-round qualifying (discontinued after the 2000 season) were entered in a random drawing at the end of the season (from 1981 until 1996, it was held during the New York Awards Ceremony) to determine which driver, not in the Busch Clash, would make the feature. In 1998, the Budweiser Shootout entered those drivers instead in a 25-lap Sunday morning last chance race before the 25-lap Bud Shootout feature. This practice was discontinued after the 2000 race, and a drawing was used for the 2001 Shootout, the last before NASCAR discontinued second-round qualifying.

External links

• Neil Bonnett at Find a Grave
• Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info
• Neil Bonnett at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
• Video of Bonnett's fatal wreck

Preceded by J.D. McDuffie

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series fatalities 1994

Succeeded by Rodney Orr

Persondata
Name	Bonnett, Neil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 30, 1946
Place of birth	Hueytown, Alabama
Date of death	February 11, 1994
Place of death