‘Alabama Gang’ will be Christmas on the River grand marshals
Published 3:46 pm Tuesday, September 11, 2012
“The Alabama Gang” will serve as grand marshals for this year’s Christmas on the River.
The group consists of NASCAR legends Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and Red Farmer.
Christmas on the River co-chairman Elizabeth “Buffy” Etheridge and Diane Brooker made the announcement Tuesday: “We are thrilled to announce that the grand marshal of the Christmas on the River five-day event will be The Alabama Gang.”
The drivers earned their nickname by setting up shop in Hueytown during the 1950s. All three original members of The Alabama Gang would go on to be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Bobby Allison won the 1983 Winston Cup Series championship and is a 3-time Daytona 500 winner (1978, 1982 and 1988). He racked up 84 total wins in NASCAR’s highest level (tied with Darrell Waltrip for fourth all-time). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993. Bobby Allison is also the father of late NASCAR drivers Davey and Clifford Allison.
Donnie Allison won 10 Cup races during his career, which spanned from the 1960s into the early 1980s. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
Farmer was born in Hueytown and earned three Top 10s over his Hall of Fame career.