NASCAR lost one of its greatest and most popular drivers when Bobby Allison passed away last November.

Allison, a Florida native whose 25-year NASCAR career was forged out of Hueytown, Ala., won 85 NASCAR Cup Series races and the 1983 championship.

Indeed, those are impressive numbers that fueled his entry into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

But they could have been better.

With a small dose of good fortune here and there, Allison would have won more than one title. He would have won four.

And Allison knew it. More than once, he expressed the opinion that he was poised to win at least three championships before 1983 and would have done so "had things just gone a little bit more my way."

It began in 1972.

At the end of 1971, Allison was cut loose from the formidable Holman-Moody team, which found itself crippled by the major manufacturers' NASCAR pullout - which, when it happened several months earlier, clouded the sanctioning body's very existence.

As fate would have it, at that time team owner Junior Johnson was seeking badly-needed sponsorship and drove from his Wilkes County, N.C., home to nearby Winston-Salem to make a pitch to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

What happened is part of NASCAR lore. Reynolds told Johnson it had a huge amount of money to invest, and to be his sponsor was far less than what was intended.

Johnson led Reynolds to NASCAR President Bill France Jr., and that resulted in the creation of the Cup circuit, which came complete with a hefty budget, a points system and a well-rewarded championship.

At the same time, Johnson teamed up with Richard Howard, the boss at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the two brought Chevrolet back to NASCAR.

Chevrolet was America's most popular car and excited fans wanted to see it race. Howard and Johnson obliged in 1971 and campaigned the car at tracks that were willing to pay appearance money - sometimes as much as $10,000 - for the privilege.

In '71 Charlie Glotzbach drove the Chevy. But for 1972, Allison caught Johnson's eye, largely because he had a sponsor.

Coca-Cola, which had been Allison's backer at Holman-Moody, agreed to remain and support his new association to the amount of $80,000-$100,000 for the season.

With Johnson in 1972, Allison enjoyed his best season. He sensed that he had a solid chance to win the championship, and his driving style reflected it.

He and perennial champ Richard Petty staged a war, especially on the short tracks, where sheet metal crumpled, smoke billowed and tempers flared.

"Bobby saw Richard's blue and red car as the one he HAD to beat," Johnson said.

Despite his season-high 10 victories, Allison lost the championship by 127.9 points according to the system of the day.

Allison spent only one season with Johnson largely because he and his team owner had several differences in opinions and racing strategy.

Yet throughout the decades, the two maintained that if their union had remained intact, it would have led to great results.

"If Bobby had stayed with me," Johnson said, "they would have had to rewrite the record book."

"I think that if Junior and I had remained together, we would have won more than one championship," Allison said. "I certainly would have won one long before I did."

It was in 1981, almost a decade later, before Allison had his second run at a title.

He was with team owner Harry Ranier and together they came up with a strategy that would surely win the Daytona 500 - and perhaps the championship.

Among the list of cars approved by NASCAR for the '81 season was the Pontiac Grand LeMans. The teams ignored it.

But not Ranier's. The car had a long, sloping rear window, unlike the more popular LeMans, which meant it could more suitably direct aerodynamic airflow to the rear and create downforce.

Secretly testing the car at Talladega Superspeedway, Allison was delighted with the results. The Grand LeMans was certain to be the dominant car at Daytona International Speedway and most likely at the other superspeedways.

Sure enough, at Daytona during practice, the car created a lot of jaw-dropping. It was the fastest by far.

NASCAR took notice and began to eye Allison and his car very closely. It was obvious it had a tremendous aerodynamic advantage and something would be done about that.

Allison heatedly objected. "It was on your approved list," he told the sanctioning body. "It should be OK to compete. You just got snookered and don't like it."

Allison finished second in the Daytona 500 - to Petty, ironically - but NASCAR's campaign against his No. 28 Pontiac, waged through multiple changes in spoiler height among other things, made the Grand LeMans virtually useless. The Ranier team switched to Buick by the eighth race of the season.

Allison finished second in the point standings, just 53 behind champion Darrell Waltrip.

"I know things would have been different if that Pontiac had not been taken away from us," Allison said years later. "We would have had the advantage on the big tracks. Thing of it is, that advantage would have been legal. But NASCAR chose not to see it that way."

Allison was in championship contention in 1982, the next season. But things had changed. He was now with DiGard Racing Co., which once had Waltrip as its driver.

It was known as a team that could attract talent. At one time or another, it employed such notables as Robert Yates, Buddy Parrott, David Ifft and Gary Nelson.

Nelson, considered a sleight-of-hand master when it came to car production and setups, was Allison's crew chief in 1982.

It was Nelson who was suspected of skullduggery in the Daytona 500. On the fourth lap of the race, the rear bumper of Allison's No. 88 Buick was scrubbed off and flew away after contact with Cale Yarborough.

However, the car never lost a beat. It ran fast and smooth throughout that race, which Allison won by 22.87 seconds over Yarborough.

"That bumper sure came off quickly after I barely touched it," Yarborough said. "I wasn't born this morning. We tested our Buick with the bumper off and it went faster."

"Why would I loosen the rear bumper?" Nelson said. "I am not stupid enough to risk a driver's life. If that happens, I'll get out of racing."

Allison, who won his first race with DiGard, added: "My car ran looser after the bumper came off. Some people just like to grumble when they get beat."

Allison had a consistently good season in a battle against Waltrip for the championship. He was just 22 points behind when the season entered its final race at Riverside, Calif.

Waltrip finished third while Allison had all sorts of problems. He fell a lap behind with two blown tires and stripped lug nuts. Then his day ended with a blown engine just seven laps from the finish. He wound up in 16th place and 72 points behind Waltrip for the title, which was his second in his first two years with, ironically, Johnson.

"Not much went our way," Allison said. "We had a chance, but we couldn't take advantage of it."

The fight for the 1983 championship was, again, between Allison and Waltrip. The two sparred not only on the speedways but also in a war of words.

Allison accused Johnson and Waltrip of using illegal equipment. The two countered, saying Allison was a "crybaby frustrated by losing the championship to us for two straight years."

Again, the championship wasn't settled until Riverside International Raceway, where Waltrip finished sixth and Allison, who overcame a cut tire that sent him to 27th place, finished ninth. He took his first, and only, Cup championship by a mere 47 points.

"It took me a while to get here," said Allison, who was 45 years old. "But now I am going to celebrate it, and I thank God for it."

Allison always remained steadfast in his opinions and principles, but he could always express them with a touch of candor and even humor.

He said that there were many things he could have done, but reality dictated he wouldn't.

"So, there's not much else to do but accept what I have done," he once said. "And you know, it's pretty darn good if I do say so myself."