NASCAR Cup

Talladega II: McMurray/Allison press conference

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Havoline Dodge Intrepid) NOTE: McMurray's No. 42 Havoline Dodge Intrepid will sport a "retro" paint scheme to honor the life and racing legacy of Davey Allison this weekend at Talladega. The "BattleStar" paint scheme is a ...

Published: Sep 29, 2003, 1:13 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 42 Havoline Dodge Intrepid)

NOTE: McMurray's No. 42 Havoline Dodge Intrepid will sport a "retro" paint scheme to honor the life and racing legacy of Davey Allison this weekend at Talladega. The "BattleStar" paint scheme is a replica of the design that Allison made famous during his 1987 rookie campaign in NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing.

"For me, it's just a huge honor to get to run a paintscheme like that from Davey Allison's rookie year. I think the neatest thing is that it's at Talladega, and the race fans are so wild here anyway. Just pulling up to do some qualifying runs here everyone was screaming. You could hear the race fans on the side of pit road screaming. It's really special hearing what some of the guys are saying throughout the garage. Everybody likes this car, and everybody thinks it's wonderful that we're doing this. You see a lot of special paintschemes throughout the year. We had the Terminator 3 Dodge at Daytona, but I think this is neat because it pays tribute to Davey and what a wonderful racecar driver he was and just this history with the racecar. It's a really, really special weekend for me, and I just feel honored that I get to be the guy who drives the car.

"I was just a young kid then. It's really ironic, because the only diecast car I remember having when I was a kid wasn't actually of this car, but it was like the car I ran at Bristol with the big Texaco star on the hood. I don't really remember why I liked him so much. I just remember that was always the car I liked and the kind of driver I pulled for. When I found out last year that I was going to drive this car it was like a dream. I've said it a million times, and it's not just to get a sponsor plug, but I couldn't have a better sponsor. I can't think of a better a better sponsor to have in Winston Cup. All of the neat things that Havoline is letting me do, everything is really special, but to get to run this paintscheme is extremely special to me.

BOBBY ALLISON

"This paint scheme is really special. That what his paintscheme on the car before Texaco jumped in there to pick up the sponsorship. Davey actually had a few laps on that thing without any sponsor on it. It was really a great favorite to all of us.

"The enjoyment we got out of Davey, the people around Davey and the whole thing, makes all of this stuff so special. I realize that it's been ten years. In some ways ten years is a long, long time, and in other ways it seems just like yesterday. We're just really proud and really happy. Judy and I are really honored with the way that Davey has been treated by people all over world - the press and the fans. People that you never would have known had any connection at all are liable to walk up and say something. It's always been a great honor."

LIZ ALLISON

"Really, right now I'm just excited. It's been ten years, and thank God time goes on and your emotions kind of get healed a little bit, and things get a little more clear as far as a perspective standpoint. We're really excited about it. The kids are excited, and they got to get out of school for two days. I just really appreciate Havoline doing this, and Chip and Felix and Jamie allowing all of it to take place. I think for the long-time Davey fans and for the Alabama Gang fans this is going to be so exciting when pulls out there on Sunday. I told Jamie that it's just a matter of time before he gets up front, and if he wins the race I told him, 'You better bar the door because the Allisons are taking over.' We're really excited and very touched.

"From Davey's standpoint there wasn't a better place to get his first win than here. I just think that it's amazing how things do go full circle. I liked all of Davey's cars, but that paintscheme was my favorite. To come back here with Jamie in his rookie year, racing that paintscheme, it's very exciting for us.

"I think Davey had a way about him that made people feel special when he spoke with them. When he was around them he had just a rare quality that was truly a star quality. I think people were drawn to him because of that. It has really lasted all of these year. He was a great guy. He was a fantastic racecar driver. I think so many people saw him as the future of this sport, as Jamie is now. It's thrilling for the family and very touching for all of us to know that people still care. I was at Bristol and even people who didn't know about this taking place today were there walking around with Davey Allison T-shirts on. I just couldn't believe it. I chased one of them down to just tell him, 'Thanks,' and introduce myself. It means a lot to us."

-dodge motorsports-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Talladega II starting lineup

Next article Talladega II: Ford drivers qualifying quotes

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027

Tim Clark wants NASCAR to be better storytellers to counter "brand perception problem"

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 57 min

Tim Clark wants NASCAR to be better storytellers to counter "brand perception problem"

Why NASCAR's Zane Smith fine for Carson Hocevar contact was consistent

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Talladega II

1 h

Why NASCAR's Zane Smith fine for Carson Hocevar contact was consistent

Jimmie Johnson on the NASCAR business world: "It's a war"

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h

Jimmie Johnson on the NASCAR business world: "It's a war"

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts