Here's my last memory of Davey Allison...
Davey was an avid deer & turkey hunter. More than 30 years ago (mid to late 1980s), Buckmasters held an annual deer hunt at the Sportsman's Lodge in Alabama. I was fortunate to be invited to three of the Buckmaster Classics. The attendees were a mix of celebrities who were mostly pro sports types with several outdoor writers, locals and Buckmaster contest winners mixed in. One of the sports guys who attended every year was noted NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Davey Allison. One year I was teamed up with Davey, Craig Boddington, Jim Varney (Ernest Saves. Christmas, etc.) & two locals for the "olympics" that was held annually. Then the next year, Davey & I bunked together in the same room and became friends. Later on, we spoke on the phone a few times.
Now fast forward to Nov. 1992 and the PYROIL 500K at Phoenix International Raceway
My oldest son's pal, Jimmy Frazzini, who lived in Colorado was in town that week, so I called Davey. He left three comped infield passes at the PIR office for me. We were in the pits just prior to the start of the race when I noticed Davey walking alone in front of the pits on his way for the driver introductions. I asked Keith & Jimmy if they wanted his autograph on their programs. Even thought they were both about 30 then, they were glad to get it. So we headed toward Davey. After we did our preliminary "hellos" and handshakes, he started to sign the programs. In the meantime, he asked me if I heard about our mutual friend & noted turkey hunter Ben Lee dying in a car wreck a short time before. Davey said the wreck happened in the exact same place Lee's daughter had died in a different accident a couple years earlier. Then he started telling me a story about a turkey hunt he & Lee had done just prior to his death. In the meantime a rather large crowd, also wanting autographs, started gathering around us. While he continued signing autographs, he went on with the tale....
Lee had recently bought one of the Mossberg 3.5" Ultramags and wanted Davey to use it on their hunt, which he did. They were all set up with Lee doing the calling a few yards behind Davey. A gobbler suddenly appeared. Davey shot and only wounded the bird. Lee began yelling for him to shoot again. Davey yelled, "I can't see him! You shoot him."
When he shot the first time, he wasn't expecting the shotgun to kick like it did. It drove his right thumb into his nose, causing his eyes to water badly. Lee finished off the bird.
At this point in telling us the story, Davey is cracking up, and so are we. The crowd started really jostling us, so we bade goodbye and got away from it. Davey won the race that day; a few months later he was killed at Tallladega Speedway.
