Daytona 500 Winners

By JENNA HALVATGIS
AP Sports Writer

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — When Red Farmer and his wife ponder retirement, they don’t think of peace and quiet. They think of Bear Bryant.
‘‘We lost the Bear one month after he gave up football, and we don’t want the same thing happening to Red,’’ Joan Farmer said. ‘‘Besides, I couldn’t stand having Red in the house all the time.’’
At 60-plus years old, Farmer is the last member of the Alabama Gang still racing, and perhaps the oldest driver anywhere. But he has no immediate plans to stop bumping and banging with those young enough to be grandsons.
‘‘I want to wear out, not rust out,’’ said Farmer, who claims to be the only Social Security recipient still trading paint. ‘‘As long as I can still compete, I’m going to continue to because there’s nothing else I’d rather do than race.’’
According to his wife, NASCAR and other sources, Farmer is 66. But he’s not admitting to anything.
‘‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?’’ he asked. ‘‘Age is just a number on a piece of paper, and I feel like I’m 51 or 52 years old.’’
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame will present Farmer with the Governor of Alabama Award during its induction ceremonies April 22. The award is given annually to an individual or organization for contributions to auto racing.
Farmer is still making his contributions.
Chosen last year as one of the top-50 drivers of NASCAR’s first half-century, Farmer has more then 730 wins in various forms of racing. He won the NASCAR Modified championship in 1956, and consecutive Late Model Sportsman titles from 1969-71.
This season, his 51st behind the wheel, is being spent mostly on dirt tracks.
‘‘You know, I went to Red’s 16th retirement party with him, and he left that party early to go buy another dirt car,’’ said Bobby Allison, who with 84 Winston Cup victories was the leader of the Alabama Gang. ‘‘Him still racing is a very enjoyable situation, and it certainly brings a smile to my face.’’
Farmer, based in nearby Hueytown, will run 20 to 30 races this season, and serve as crew chief for Jimmy Kitchens’ ARCA car and as a consultant on his Busch Grand National car.
So Farmer will remain highly visible in the sport. But he won’t be seen driving on superspeedways. His wife made him give that up in 1993, after he was injured in a helicopter crash at Talladega.
Killed was his friend’s son, Winston Cup star Davey Allison, who was piloting the chopper.
‘‘I have never ever asked Red Farmer to make a choice,’’ his wife said. ‘‘But after that wreck, I told him it was superspeedways or his family.’’
The helicopter crash wasn’t the most serious accident of Farmer’s life.
He once broke six ribs and three vertebrae in a wreck. His left kneecap has been removed, he was once burned over 40 percent of his body, and just about every major bone has been broken at least once.
Farmer also lost the top knuckles of the index, ring and middle fingers on his left hand when he accidentally stuck them in the propeller of his airboat while hunting.
But none of those accidents left the emotional scars of the helicopter crash. He suffered a broken collarbone and some internal injuries, but the loss of Davey Allison, whom he considered a son, was nearly unbearable.
‘‘I’ve heard him wonder many times why it had to be Davey and not him,’’ Joan Farmer said. ‘‘Red lived his life and had done his thing, and Davey was just getting started. He still doesn’t talk too much about him.’’
When Farmer does talk about Davey Allison, tears come to his eyes.
‘‘I’d have doubled my injuries if it would have taken some of his away,’’ he said. ‘‘Davey was just like Jeff Gordon, a one of a kind.’’
Bobby Allison certainly understands Farmer’s grief.
‘‘Red Farmer was Davey’s hero from the time Davey knew what a race car driver was,’’ Bobby said. ‘‘When Davey was 5 years old, we gave him a dog that he called ‘Old Red Farmer.’
‘‘I think Red shares with many of us what a tremendous loss it was. It isn’t easy, and it hasn’t been easy on Red.’’
Part of Farmer’s pain is eased each week at the track, where the most-asked question probably concerns his retirement.
‘‘People keep wondering when am I going to quit, when I am going to stop,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m finally at the point where I don’t need to spend the rent money on a new set of tires.
‘‘I ain’t quittin’ now.’’

AP-CS-04-14-99 1208EDT