A Bit Of History from South Florida

[Don Nerone]

Hey maybe Speedworld ought to try the bus thing from downtown and advertise down there. Advertise. What a concept. All the years I've been in Orlando, all my life, I have never seen any advertising west of Bithlo for the circle track. Carl did for the Drag Strip.

Then u weren't looking.
Radio tv news flying banners over down town . Car shows at Hooters. car shows at all the Mc Donalds in Orlando. here are a few that I know have been done..

don62

[ancrdave]

Bobby & Donnie Allison, along with Red Farmer were all from Miami but migrated to Hueytown, AL in the very early '60s... Since they all now lived in Alabama and no one really knew where they were originally from, they became known as the "Alabama Gang" mostly because they all traveled to most of the same races and one of them would usually win... Some people add Neil Bonnett to the group but he was not considered an actual member... neither was Davey...

[Jimmy McKinley]

Dave, Speaking of South Florida. I've always wondered why the Allison gang were always called the Alabama Gang when they were originally from South Florida/Miami?

Because the Allisons and Farmer didn't really become *well-known* until after they moved to Hueytown. Red moved up there first, because he found out they were racing five and six nights a week up there (like in Wisconsin) and could actually make money racing. He called up Bobby and Donnie, his good friends from Hialeah, and the rest is history.

They didn't actually get the nickname until the late '60s, I believe, when a reporter for a local track in North Carolina saw them pulling into the pits, and said, "Here comes that damn 'Alabama gang' again!"

http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Red_Farmer.htm - scroll about halfway down; Red tells the story.

[dd38]

Don I was referring to downtown directly. I grew up in Orlando/Conway and never saw anything