| David Pearson | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:DavidPearson2008.jpg) Pearson in 2008 | |||||||
| Born | David Gene Pearson December 22, 1934 Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | November 12, 2018 (aged 83) Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Achievements | 1966, 1968, 1969 Grand National Series Champion 1976 Daytona 500 Winner 1976, 1977, 1979 Southern 500 Winner 1961, 1974, 1976 World 600 Winner 1972, 1973, 1974 Winston 500 Winner NASCAR Triple Crown Winner (1976) Led Winston Cup Series in wins (1966, 1968, 1973, 1976) Led Winston Cup Series in poles (1964, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976) 10 wins at Darlington Raceway (all time winner) 9 wins at Michigan International Speedway (all time winner) 13 poles at Charlotte Motor Speedway (all time leader) including record 11 in a row 12 poles at Darlington Raceway (all time leader) | ||||||
| Awards | 1960 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year 1979 Winston Cup Series Most Popular Driver Olsonite American Driver Of The Year (1976) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1990) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1993)[1] NASCAR Hall of Fame (2011) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 574 races run over 27 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1966, 1968, 1969) | ||||||
| First race | 1960 Daytona 500 qualifier #1 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) | ||||||
| First win | 1961 World 600 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last win | 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 6 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 35th (1982) | ||||||
| First race | 1982 Southeastern 150 (Bristol) | ||||||
| Last race | 1983 Sportsman 200 (Dover) | ||||||
| First win | 1982 Coca-Cola 200 (Rockingham) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Grand National East Series career | |||||||
| 3 races run over 1 year | |||||||
| First race | 1972 NASCAR Grand National East Series | ||||||
| Last race | 1972 NASCAR Grand National East Series | ||||||
| First win | 1972 NASCAR Grand National East Series | ||||||
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David Gene Pearson (December 22, 1934 – November 12, 2018) was an American stock car driver, who raced from 1960 to 1986 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No. 21 Mercury for Wood Brothers Racing. Pearson won the 1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award[2] and three Cup Series championships (1966, 1968, and 1969). He never missed a race in the years he was active.[2] NASCAR described his 1974 season as an indication of his "consistent greatness", finishing third in the season points having competed in only 19 of 30 races.[3] Pearson's career paralleled Richard Petty's, the driver who has won the most races in NASCAR history.[4] They accounted for 63 first/second-place finishes, with the edge going to Pearson. Petty had 200 wins in 1,184 starts, while Pearson had 105 wins in 574 starts. Pearson was nicknamed the "Fox" (and later the "Silver Fox") for his calculated approach to racing.[5]
At his finalist nomination for NASCAR Hall of Fame's inaugural 2010 class, NASCAR described Pearson as "... the model of NASCAR efficiency during his career. With little exaggeration, when Pearson showed up at a race track, he won."[3] Pearson ended his career in 1986, and holds the second position on NASCAR's all-time win list with 105 victories; as well as achieving 113 pole positions.[2] Pearson was successful in different venues of racing; he won three times on road courses, 48 times on superspeedways, 54 times on short tracks, and had 23 dirt track wins.[2] Pearson finished with at least one Top 10 finish in each of his 27 seasons. ESPN described him as being a "plain-spoken, humble man, and that added up to...."[6]
Petty had high praises for Pearson, saying, "He could beat you on a short track, he could beat you on a superspeedway, he could beat you on a road course, he could beat you on a dirt track. It didn't hurt as bad to lose to Pearson as it did to some of the others, because I knew how good he was."[4] Pearson said of Petty: "I always felt that if I beat him I beat the best, and I heard he said the same thing about me." Petty went further by saying that he believed Pearson would have pulled off 200 victories like him, if he ran the full schedules of NASCAR racing.
- ^ David Pearson at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
- ^ a b c d Fleischman, Bill; Pearce, Al (1999). The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide (1998–99). Farmington Hills, Michigan: Visible Ink Press. pp. 197. ISBN 1-57859-111-2.
- ^ a b "Inaugural Class of 2010 Nominee: David Pearson". NASCAR. 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
- ^ a b Hinton, Ed (March 25, 2009). "Pearson: Just drive the car". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- ^ Falk, Duane (2002). The Daytona 500:The Great American Race. Michael Friedman Publishing Group. pp. 71–72. ISBN 1-58663-169-1.
- ^ Hinton, Ed (October 16, 2009). "Pearson's plight could be bad news for Johnson". ESPN. Retrieved December 22, 2009.