In case you were wondering if Southside Speedway's Legacy Night is a big deal, consider this: Bobby Allison thinks it's a big deal.Southside, the 1/3-mile oval in Chesterfield County just outside Richmond, announced this past week that Allison is coming from his home in Alabama to be part of the Friday, July 26, celebration of the track's 60 years.And, really, why not.Allison's Southside history runs deep. He won the track's 1960 Virginia 400. It was the first time Southside held its big season-finale event, a tradition that would last for decades.He was 22 years old and beginning to establish himself as a driver who could go anywhere and challenge the best local drivers. It would be six years before Allison started winning in what became the NASCAR Cup Series.Allison would say later that his victory in Southside Speedway's 400-lapper was a big boost to his career, raising awareness among fans and track promoters.And his victory was certainly good for Southside. The news that a driver from Alabama hauled his race car to Virginia brought extra attention to the event. And as the years passed and Allison earned his Hall of Fame credentials, his link to Southside was added glory for the track.His big win in that 1960 race wasn't a one-time-only visit. Southside became a frequent stop for Allison, who kept his barnstorming short-track schedule going, even during the heyday of his Cup career.And the money he made at a track where he ran well wasn't his only reason for running races at Southside. Starting with that 1960 Virginia 400, Allison became a friend of Southside Speedway owner J.M. Wilkinson and his family – and a regular houseguest,"Bobby always stayed at our house," said Sue Clements, Wilkinson's daughter who with her sister inherited the track and who operates Southside now."He would drive to Richmond hauling his race car," Clements said, "and he would park in the back yard. Mama wouldn't let him park in the driveway. After the race, he would come back to the house…. He would stay overnight, get up Saturday morning and have breakfast and then be off to the next place he would race."Eventually, Allison's combined Cup Series/short track schedules had him flying his own small plane to get to all his races. "Daddy would drive out to the airport and pick Bobby up and bring him back to the house," Clements said. "Bobby is the nicest person you would ever want to know. He has always been family to us."Allison won several hundred local-track races and 84 Cup Series races before injuries suffered in a 1988 crash at Pocono Raceway ended his racing. His Cup win total ties him for fourth on the all-time list with Darrell Waltrip.Allison was 1983 Cup Series champion and eight-time Most Popular Driver. He's a three-time Daytona 500 winner – 1978, '82 and '88. Besides the NASCAR Hall of Fame, he is a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.Southside plans a "meet and greet" that will give fans some time to interact with Allison and other drivers, past and present.Rain date for the event is August 9.Speaking of rain dates, Racing Virginia tracks have endured a couple of seasons of schedules interrupted by persistent weekend rains across Virginia. And this month has been one of those times when they have to deal with the heat.When temperatures get into the upper 90s, fans everywhere might want to double-check their favorite tracks' plans.For example, Virginia Motor Speedway, reacting to a Saturday forecast of nearly 100 degrees for its part of the state, didn't race this Saturday. Rather than subject fans to the blistering heat, the track postponed its big Prelude to the World Championship event until Aug. 24.The forecast was a few degrees lower around Richmond this past Friday, so Southside Speedway officials decided to go ahead – but moved the starting time for on-track action a half hour later to give time for the air to cool a little."We keep an eye on the heat," said Southside's Clements. "We have postponed races when the forecast has gotten up around 100."