Neil Bonnett

Neil Bonnett
Bonnett in 1985
Born	(1946-07-30)July 30, 1946 Hueytown, Alabama
Died	February 11, 1994(1994-02-11) (aged 47) Daytona Beach, Florida
Cause of death	Autoracing accident during practice for the 1994 Daytona 500
Achievements	1982, 1983 World 600 Winner 1979 Firecracker 400 Winner
Awards	Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame inductee (1997) International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee (2001) Winner of the first ever NASCAR race run outside of North America, the Goodyear NASCAR 500 held in Australia (1988)
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career
362 races run over 18 years
Best finish	4th (1985)
First race	1974 Nashville 420 (Nashville)
Last race	1993 Hooters 500 (Atlanta)
First win	1977 Capital City 400 (Richmond)
Last win	1988 Goodwrench 500 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles 18 156 20
Statistics current as of June 14, 2015.

Lawrence Neil Bonnett (July 30, 1946 – February 11, 1994), known professionally as Neil Bonnett, was a NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. The Alabama native currently ranks 45th in all-time NASCAR Cup victories. He appeared in the 1983 film Stroker Ace and the 1990 film Days of Thunder. Bonnett hosted the TV show Winners for TNN from 1991 to 1994. He was a color commentator for CBS, TBS, and TNN in the years until his death.

Bonnett began his NASCAR career as a protégé of 1983 Winston Cup champion Bobby Allison, working on the team's cars. He later became part of the famous "Alabama Gang" that included himself, Red Farmer and the Allison family: father Bobby, brother Donnie and, later, son Davey. He began driving in NASCAR in 1974 and earned his first victory in 1977 at the Capital City 400 in Richmond, Virginia driving for Harry Hyde-Jim Stacy Racing. He had another victory in 1977 at the Los Angeles Times 500, which would be the last Dodge win in NASCAR until 2001. Many in racing circles thought 1978 would be his year to dominate, but troubles with his cars (the new for '78 Dodge Magnum) and financial problems between Hyde and Stacy caused his cars to fail and to drop out of many races. In 1979 he hooked up with the Wood Brothers Racing Team and got his career back on track with three victories. He later won back-to-back World 600s (NASCAR's longest race, now the Coca-Cola 600 in 1982 and 1983) and back-to-back Busch Clash (now Bud Shootout) victories in 1983 and '84, including his first in which he did not win a single pole from the previous season, but was selected as a wild card entry.