David Pearson

David Pearson, a three-time NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, is second on NASCAR Nextel Cup's all-time win list with 105, second only to Richard Petty.

The "Silver Fox", born December 22, 1934 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, debuted on the Grand National racing circuit in 1960 and earned Rookie of the Year honors that same season. He went on to win the NASCAR Championship in 1966, 1968 and 1969 (the only three full-time seasons of his career).

Pearson ranks as one of the greatest of all NASCAR drivers and his duels with Richard Petty are legendary. Between August 8, 1963 and June 12, 1977, they finished one/two on sixty-three occasions, with Pearson coming out on top with thirty-three victories. Their most famous encounter came at the 1976 Daytona 500 when the two were running bumper-to-bumper on the final lap. They slammed hard against each other's front fender and both hit the wall. Petty's damaged car spun off the track just twenty-five yards from the finish line and the engine quit running and he could not get it to restart. All Petty could do was sit in his famous #43 and watch as Pearson's wrecked #21 limped across the finish line to claim victory.

Pearson won the "Most Popular Driver" award in 1979 and 1980. After twenty-six seasons in racing, he retired in 1986. He finished his career in second place behind Richard Petty on NASCAR's all-time win list with 105, and second in all-time pole positions.
Pearson ranks second on NASCAR's all-time pole positions earned with 113, including an unprecedented superspeedway qualifying record by winning 11 straight pole positions at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway form 1973-78. He was also fourth in laps led with 25,425, sixth overall, in races led with 329 races, and he won 11 of the 18 NASCAR Nextel Cup events he entered in 1973. Pearson won 43 races from 1972-79 while driving for the famous Wood Brothers.

Pearson is one of eight drivers in NASCAR history to win a Career Grand Slam, by winning the sport's four majors; Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Buddy Baker are the other seven to have accomplished the feat.

He has been inducted into the National Motor Sports Press Association's Hall of Fame at Darlington Raceway in 1991. Two years later, in 1993, Pearson was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama. Then in 1995, Pearson was inducted into Charlotte Motor Speedway's Court of Legends and in 1998, Pearson was also inducted in the Bristol Motor Speedway's Heroes of Bristol.

Career Overview: In 27 years on the NASCAR circuit, Pearson made 574 starts, qualified on the Pole 113 times, recorded 105 Wins, 301 Top-5’s, and 366 Top-10’s. Compare these stats to the present day driver with the most wins, Jeff Gordon, who has 4 Sprint Cup Championships, 81 wins, 234 Top-5's, 317 Top-10's, and 63 poles in 14 years.