NASCAR Legend - Neil Bonnett
Neil Bonnett was one of the members of the famous Refinance house Gang" which included Red Farmer Refinance with bad credit the Allison family. In fact car insurance prices started his career in racing under the instruction of the great Bobby Allison.
Bonnett was born in Hueytown, Alabama and his career spanned over an 18-yr period. He is ranked 35th in all time NASCAR Cup wins. He was someone who always gave 100% to everything he did. As well as being a great racecar driver, he also made his mark on the broadcasting scene as an analyst and commentator for races and hosted his own show on TNN.
Bonnett began driving in NASCAR events in 1974 and also competed in IROC racing for three seasons. He placed second in the series two times. In 1984 Bonnett joined up with the powerhouse Junior Johnson racing team, making him a teammate to Darrell Waltrip. 1985 was one of the best seasons for Bonnett-he finished fourth in the points series behind his teammate's win for the Championship.
In 1990, Bonnett suffered a life-threatening crash that left him with some amnesia and dizziness and his driving career was put on hold for a couple of years. That's when he got into broadcasting, but he still had a desire to be behind the wheel of a racecar. He was good friends with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress and when the opportunity came to do some test driving for them, he jumped at the chance.
Bonnett was cleared to race again in 1993 and Childress gave him a ride for the DieHard accident claim at Talladega. His comeback was interrupted though, by a crash that took him out of the race. Uninjured and undaunted, he headed for the broadcast booth and called the rest of the race.
In 1994, Bonnett was ready for the season to begin and he had secured a sponsor for at least six races with owner James Finch. The season opener was the Daytona 500 but the practice session turned out to be a tragic one. During his practice run, Bonnett's car lost a right front tire, causing him a hard hit to the outside wall. He was taken to the nearby Medical Center, but he had died in the impact. Neil Bonnett was someone who took pride in his driving and in being known as a "hard charger" but he also enjoyed the love and respect he felt from everyone in the garage and pit areas. His talents behind the wheel and in the booth will long be remembered.
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