Bobby Allison, founder of the “Alabama Gang” racing group and NASCAR Hall of Famer, died Saturday. He was 86 years old.

NASCAR released a statement from Allison’s family saying he died at his home in Mooresville, North Carolina. No cause of death was given, but Allison had been in declining health for years.

Allison moved into fourth place on the NASCAR Cup wins list last month when chairman Jim France recognized him as the winner of the 1971 Meyers Brothers Memorial at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina. The sanctioning body updated its records to reflected the decision, giving Allison 85 wins and moving him out of a tie with Darrell Waltrip.

France and longtime NASCAR executive Mike Helton presented Allison with a plaque commemorating the win. With him, Allison trails only fellow Hall of Famers Richard Petty (200), David Pearson (105) and Jeff Gordon (93) in Cup wins.

Allison was inducted into the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011. He was the 1983 NASCAR champion, finished second in the series title race five times and won the Daytona 500 three times.

“Bobby was the ultimate fan driver,” Allison’s family said in a statement. “He really enjoyed spending time with his fans and would stop to sign autographs and chat with them wherever he went. He was a dedicated family man and friend and a devout Catholic.”

He helped put NASCAR on the map with more than just driving. His infamous battle with Cale Yarborough in the closing laps of the 1979 Daytona 500 served as one of the sport’s defining moments.

“Cale went to punch me in the nose,” Allison said repeatedly, often using the phrase to describe the fight. “Cale understands as I do that it has really been a benefit to the interest of racing. It shows that we were sincere.”

Born in Miami in 1937, Allison began looking for more racing opportunities outside of the Sunshine State. He landed in central Alabama, where he found a series of small, dirt tracks.

He returned to Florida to pick up his brother Donnie and close friend Red Farmer. They were based in Hueytown, Alabama and dominated regional racing throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. They were later joined in the Alabama gang by Jimmy Mears, Neil Bonnett and Bonnett and Allison’s sons Davey and Clifford.

Allison retired in 1988 following an accident that nearly killed him. In June 1987, he crashed on the first lap at Talledega Superspeedway. It hit the outside wall and then was boned in the driver’s door. He was initially pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital, but was later resuscitated.

He eventually regained his memory, relearned daily activities and tried to make a comeback. But a series of tragedies forced Allison to retire. His son Clifford was fatally injured during a practice crash for the second-tier Busch Series at Michigan International Speedway in 1992. A year later, son Davey died in a helicopter crash at Talladega.

Three years after that, Bobby and wife Judy divorced. They reconnected four years later at their daughter-in-law’s wedding and remarried in 2000. They remained together until Judy’s death in 2015.

Allison was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 and the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Pearson and Lee Petty.

“Bobby Allison personified the term ‘competitor,'” France said in a statement. “Although he is best known as one of the winningest drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history, his impact on the sport extends far beyond the record books.

Allison is one of 10 drivers to win NASCAR’s career “grand slam,” which includes the Cup Series’ most iconic races: the Daytona 500, Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500.

Allison made six IndyCar Series starts for Roger Penske, including a pair of Indy 500s.

___

AP Sports Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.

___

AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing