Neil Bonnett

Neil Bonnett is establishing some personal firsts this season in NASCAR. Not only is he leading the Winston Cup series for the first time in his career, but the 41-year-old driver has won three straight races for the first time. "We've just got everything working for us right now," Bonnett said after holding off Lake Speed over the last 20 laps Sunday to win the Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Bonnett won a Winston Cup race two weeks ago at Richmond, Va.

Neil Bonnett's zest for racing carried him to 18 NASCAR Winston Cup victories and made him one of the sport's most popular broadcasters. Bonnett was one of four people inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday, joining motorcycle and Formula One racer Mike Hailwood, sprint car champion and Indy 500 winner Jimmy Bryan and engine builder Fred Offenhauser. All four were honored posthumously.

NASCAR drivers Bobby Allison and Neil Bonnett, both hurt in career-ending race crashes, have filed complaints alleging insurance companies failed to pay off their medical claims. Allison filed a $25-million suit in state court against six insurance companies. And the Alabama attorney general's office confirmed it is investigating Bonnett's claim that an Alabama insurance company based defrauded him of more than $100,000.

After Neil Bonnett died, his widow found in the family safe a letter he wrote after longtime friend and fellow NASCAR driver Davey Allison was killed last summer. Susan Bonnett wouldn't reveal specifics of the letter, but said it "made a lot of things OK." Bonnett had added more to the letter a few days before leaving for Daytona Beach, Fla., to practice for the Daytona 500, she said. He died Feb. 11 after a crash while qualifying for the race.

Neil Bonnett's zest for racing carried him to 18 NASCAR Winston Cup victories and made him one of the sport's most popular broadcasters. Bonnett was one of four people inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday, joining motorcycle and Formula One racer Mike Hailwood, sprint car champion and Indy 500 winner Jimmy Bryan and engine builder Fred Offenhauser. All four were honored posthumously.

After Neil Bonnett died, his widow found in the family safe a letter he wrote after longtime friend and fellow NASCAR driver Davey Allison was killed last summer. Susan Bonnett wouldn't reveal specifics of the letter, but said it "made a lot of things OK." Bonnett had added more to the letter a few days before leaving for Daytona Beach, Fla., to practice for the Daytona 500, she said. He died Feb. 11 after a crash while qualifying for the race.

Neil Bonnett, suffering from severe amnesia as a result of a car race accident Sunday, was back home today, but his wife said full recovery isn't expected immediately. Bonnett, 43, suffered a head injury Sunday in a 14-car crash in the TransSouth 500 at Darlington, S.C., a NASCAR stock car race. After he arrived in Birmingham Monday night in fellow driver Dale Earnhardt's airplane, Susan Bonnett said his problem is worse than doctors first believed.

Neil Bonnett went above and beyond to ensure CBS had a memorable telecast of Sunday's DieHard 500 at Talladega, Ala. As an auto racing commentator for CBS and TBS, Bonnett's job is to provide words that will enhance a telecast. But he did a lot more than provide words for CBS on Sunday. Bonnett, driving in his first NASCAR race since being badly injured in April, 1990, at Darlington, S.C., was involved in a spectacular crash on Lap 132.

Tragedy continued to stalk stock car racing's Alabama Gang when veteran driver Neil Bonnett suffered fatal head injuries Friday when his car crashed into the Turn 4 wall at Daytona International Speedway. The death of the 47-year-old Bonnett, one of the most popular drivers on NASCAR's Winston Cup circuit, came as he was attempting a comeback in hopes of qualifying for the Feb. 20 Daytona 500. It was the latest in the tragic saga of a tightly knit group of racers from Hueytown, Ala.

Neil Bonnett went above and beyond to ensure CBS had a memorable telecast of Sunday's DieHard 500 at Talladega, Ala. As an auto racing commentator for CBS and TBS, Bonnett's job is to provide words that will enhance a telecast. But he did a lot more than provide words for CBS on Sunday. Bonnett, driving in his first NASCAR race since being badly injured in April, 1990, at Darlington, S.C., was involved in a spectacular crash on Lap 132.

NASCAR drivers Bobby Allison and Neil Bonnett, both hurt in career-ending race crashes, have filed complaints alleging insurance companies failed to pay off their medical claims. Allison filed a $25-million suit in state court against six insurance companies. And the Alabama attorney general's office confirmed it is investigating Bonnett's claim that an Alabama insurance company based defrauded him of more than $100,000.

Neil Bonnett, suffering from severe amnesia as a result of a car race accident Sunday, was back home today, but his wife said full recovery isn't expected immediately. Bonnett, 43, suffered a head injury Sunday in a 14-car crash in the TransSouth 500 at Darlington, S.C., a NASCAR stock car race. After he arrived in Birmingham Monday night in fellow driver Dale Earnhardt's airplane, Susan Bonnett said his problem is worse than doctors first believed.

Neil Bonnett is establishing some personal firsts this season in NASCAR. Not only is he leading the Winston Cup series for the first time in his career, but the 41-year-old driver has won three straight races for the first time. "We've just got everything working for us right now," Bonnett said after holding off Lake Speed over the last 20 laps Sunday to win the Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Bonnett won a Winston Cup race two weeks ago at Richmond, Va.

Neil Bonnett charged from two laps down, took the lead with 48 laps left and drove to a disputed victory over Ricky Rudd in Sunday's Pontiac 400, the last NASCAR Winston Cup event at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Rudd complained to NASCAR officials that Bonnett was actually one lap behind at the end of the 400-lap race on the .542-mile oval. Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip, who finished third and fourth, respectively, echoed Rudd's concerns.

Bill Elliott avoided numerous crashes in Sunday's NASCAR Oakwood 500 at Concord, N.C., including one wreck that hospitalized Neil Bonnett, to win his fourth Winston Cup race this season. Elliott, driving a Ford, finished 2.22 seconds ahead of Bobby Allison, in a Buick, for his 21st career victory. Third was Sterling Marlin in an Oldsmobile. Terry Labonte took fourth in a Chevrolet, one lap down. Richard Petty finished fifth in a Pontiac.

It may have been the first NASCAR race held outside the United States, but it was just another Sunday drive for Neil Bonnett and neighbor Bobby Allison. Bonnett, in a Pontiac, scored his second straight victory by winning the $250,000 NASCAR 500 stock car race as 46,000 fans at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne, Australia, were treated to a series of side-by-side duels between Allison and Bonnett. "It's the same old deal," Allison said. "We've been racing that way for 20 years."

Neil Bonnett charged from two laps down, took the lead with 48 laps left and drove to a disputed victory over Ricky Rudd in Sunday's Pontiac 400, the last NASCAR Winston Cup event at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Rudd complained to NASCAR officials that Bonnett was actually one lap behind at the end of the 400-lap race on the .542-mile oval. Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip, who finished third and fourth, respectively, echoed Rudd's concerns.