By Ben White

The first ride for Bobby Allison, NASCAR’s 1983 Cup champion and three-time Daytona 500 winner, sat in the driveway a short time due to a small deal-breaking snag in his plan: his age.

“My absolute first car was a four-door 1934 Ford Phaeton convertible,” Allison said. “Some guy in the neighborhood had it and I bought that thing with $12. I really, really loved it. It had a flat-head Ford and a brown canvas top and nothing but blue sky when it was down.

“I was only 13 at the time (1951) and I had done a lot of odd jobs here and there for money. I would do anything to turn 50 cents. I mowed grass, cut hedge bushes, hauled trash, anything to make money. I also had a paper route and delivered the Miami News on my bike for years.

It was a great idea but the timing wasn’t quite right.

“The bad part of the story was my mom and dad made me sell it back to the guy because I wasn’t old enough to have a car. It was a medium blue color with a little rust mixed in. It was really special for the two weeks I was able to own that thing. That dream ended quickly.”