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David Pearson
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David Gene Pearson (born December 22, 1934 in Spartanburg, South Carolina) is a former American NASCAR racecar champion.
Known as the "Silver Fox", he 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.
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Encyclopedia
David Gene Pearson (born December 22, 1934 in Spartanburg, South Carolina) is a former American NASCAR racecar champion.
Known as the "Silver Fox", he 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 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.
On Wednesday, April 16, 2008; the 73 year old Pearson, in his 1971 Wood Brothers #21 Purolator Mercury,on loan from the museum, almost beat out NASCAR's Carl Edwards on the newly repaved Darlington Speedway. Still the Greatest NASCAR Driver in South Carolina, having won at Darlington a record 10 times.
Career awards
Family
- David's son Larry Pearson won two NASCAR Busch Championships in 1986 and 1987 and had a go at the Winston Cup circuit before turning his focus back to Busch racing. David's other children were also involved in racing as mechanics.
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