NASCAR
‘The Silver Fox’ David Pearson Passes Away at Age of 83
NASCAR lost one of its all time greatest competitors on Monday. 2011 Hall of Fame Inductee David Pearson passed away in his Spartanburg, South Carolina home. Pearson, a 3 time champion in the NASCAR Cup Series, was 83 years old.
Career Highlights For David Pearson
David Gene Pearson, born in South Carolina in 1934, made his NASCAR debut in 1960. Over a career that spanned 29 years, David Pearson won 105 races, as well as 3 championships. That win record is second all-time only to Richard Petty’s 200-win total.
Many fans would consider either Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt the best NASCAR racer ever. However, when asked about who the best driver in NASCAR history is, Petty is always quick to name David Pearson.
Petty and Pearson represented the 2 titans of their era, never allowing the other to dominate. They were fierce rivals on track, with ‘The King’ Petty and ‘Silver Fox’ Pearson finishing 1-2 a record 63 times. Of those 63 races, Pearson won 33, while consequently Petty only won 30. The most famous battle between them was in the 1976 Daytona 500. Pearson beat Petty to the line after a crash that saw them both sliding sideways.
By far Pearson’s strongest racetrack was his home track, Darlington Raceway. The South Carolina native won a record 10 races at The Track Too Tough to Tame.
David Pearson was most known for racing the Wood Brothers Racing Team’s 21 car. He piloted the 21 Motorcraft Ford during the 1970s. During this time, Pearson won 43 times for the Virginia team. Pearson won the Grand National Series Championship in 1966, 1968, and 1969. Amazingly, he only ran the full schedule for those 3 seasons. Had Pearson ran a full schedule for more of his career, his win and championship totals could have been higher.
Pearson’s driving style is one still emulated by drivers to this day. Surprisingly, Pearson rarely dominated races where he won. Rather, he would patiently, methodically move his way up through the field.
Post-NASCAR Life For Pearson
Since retiring from NASCAR competition after 1989, Pearson has won several honors. Most importantly, Pearson got inducted into the 2011 Class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Pearson has always lived in his hometown of Spartanburg, keeping true to his humble roots.
Pearson was the father of Larry Pearson, who won the Busch Series title in 1986 and 1987. His other sons Ricky and Eddie, will also survive their father.
Pearson did suffer a stroke back in December 2014, but was able to recover from that ailment. Pearson’s cause of death is currently unknown, as are any memorial arrangements. As a result of Pearson’s passing, expect NASCAR to honor Pearson this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He will likely be a focus of the pre-race invocation.
Pearson’s Legacy in his own Words
Above all, the loss of David Pearson is an irreplaceable absence in NASCAR history. In his Hall of Fame induction speech, Pearson described his gratitude for NASCAR. “I’m just a plan ol’ country boy, what you want to call it. That’s the way I was raised and brought up to be. Racing has been good to me and I owe everything I got to racing.”
Photo by Stephen Taylor via Flickr.
