When it comes to any ranking of all-time greats, one of the biggest factors that has to be accounted for is situation. In NASCAR, that's no different.
One of the most definitive marks of a legend is someone who can adapt to any condition, any team, in any era. Sure, Richard Petty won 200 races, but his family's operation was leaps and bounds better than everybody else's. Sure, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were great, but Hendrick Motorsports was an empire.
Then, there was Bobby Allison. The man who won for 12 different organizations – twelve! – over the course of his 25-year career.
Bobby Allison won wherever he went, and he went a lot of places
Allison was a nomad from the beginning. He initially entered the Cup Series in 1961, making four appearances for a team owned by Ralph Stark. But he didn't get his foot all the way in the door until 1966, when he made 33 starts and won three times for Donald Brackins.
The following year, he ran nearly the full schedule, splitting time driving cars registered to six different owners. He found Victory Lane for three of them. By the end of the 1960s, he'd taken checkered flags for two additional teams, and in 1970, he then decided to add himself to that list by winning twice for an independent organization.
Allison's full explosion into superstardom came in 1971, when he linked up with Holman-Moody Racing for the majority of the schedule. He led more than 3,500 laps and won 11 times, but naturally, one was for Melvin Joseph, and another was for himself. Then, because he just couldn't stand staying in the same place for too long, he went to drive for Richard Howard in 1972.
He'd put together another 10-win season, with even more laps led, this time well over 4,000, in 11 fewer races at that, and yet he was on the move once again the following winter, back to taking the independent route.
Eventually, the constant changes of scenery came back to bite Allison, and by the late 1970s, his performance had dropped off while he still didn't have a championship. But he finally found some stability – at least, by his standards – with DiGard Racing, winning 16 times between 1982 and 1984 and capturing his elusive title in 1983. It was his forever home, until he abruptly left in the middle of the 1985 season.
When all was said and done, Allison's 85 race wins rank fourth all-time, and his 27,556 laps led rank third. No one in Cup Series history ever won for as many different teams as he did, and it's fair to wonder how much more success could have been on the table.
Allison was the ultimate NASCAR journeyman. As the old Johnny Cash song goes, he went everywhere. And he won, everywhere.