David Pearson (racing driver)

David Pearson
Pearson in 2008
Born	David Gene Pearson (1934-12-22)December 22, 1934 Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	November 12, 2018(2018-11-12) (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) 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)
Wins Top tens Poles 105 366 113
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)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 4 3
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
Wins Top tens Poles 1 2 0

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 and three Cup Series championships (1966, 1968, and 1969). He never missed a race in the years he was active. 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. Pearson's career paralleled Richard Petty's, the driver who has won the most races in NASCAR history. 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.

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." 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. 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. 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...."

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." 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.

Background

Pearson was born near Spartanburg, South Carolina. When Pearson was young, he climbed a tree at the local stock car racing track (Spartanburg Fairgrounds) to see the races. Pearson said, "I'd always been interested in cars, and I decided right then that was what I wanted to do with my life." He worked with his brother in a car body repair shop and used the money earned to purchase a Ford coach. Pearson removed the fenders to convert the vehicle into a street rod. He jumped the car over ditches until he rolled it over. His mother paid him to junk the car, and he used the money to purchase another car to build. In 1952, he raced a 1940 Ford at dirt tracks and won $30 in an outlaw class race. He kept winning and attracted the attention of Spartanburg's racing community, including Joe Littlejohn.

Career

1960s

Pearson began racing in NASCAR's Grand National series during the 1960 season shortly after winning the 1959 track championship at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. His first NASCAR start was the first 1960 Daytona 500 qualifying race and he finished 17th in a self-owned car that he had purchased from Jack White. He started 22 events that season, finishing 23rd in season points and was voted the 1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. His season was highlighted by a second-place finish at Gamecock Speedway (Sumter, South Carolina), a fourth-place finish at Hickory Motor Speedway and fifth after starting on the pole position at his hometown track at Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg.

Pearson's 1961 Pontiac, prepared by Ray Fox

When Pearson bent the frame of his own race car early in the 1961 season, he began working as a house roofer in Spartanburg to support his family, which included two sons. Darel Dieringer had a contract dispute with a tire company and was not able to compete in the inaugural World 600 at Charlotte. Littlejohn was at the track, and he recommended that car builder Ray Fox hire Pearson. Pearson was unsure if he should join the team, and Fox was not convinced that he should trust his car to the relatively untested 26-year-old driver.

After Pearson had a successful test run, he qualified the car with the third fastest time behind Richard Petty and Joe Weatherly. Pearson raced his way into the lead early in the event and was the leader after the first round of pit stops. Pearson and Petty were the only two cars on the lead lap by a restart on the 311th lap (of 400). Petty made up six seconds on Pearson in 20 laps before Petty had to retire with a blown engine. Pearson held a three lap lead over Fireball Roberts and was leading late in the race until he ran over some debris on the backstretch and blew a tire with only two laps remaining. Pearson drove the car around the track slowly for the final lap at approximately 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) to take the victory.

He started in 19 races during the 1961 season and he had three wins to finish thirteenth in season points, winning his first NASCAR race in a Fox-prepared car at Concord Speedway. Later in the season, he won the Firecracker 250 at Daytona and the Dixie 400 at Atlanta.

Pearson started in only 12 of 53 events in 1962 yet managed to finish tenth in season points. Pearson began the season racing for Fox until Fox retired; he started for Petty Enterprises, Cotton Owens, and Bud Moore that season. He had seven top ten finishes and no wins. During 41 starts in 55 races, Pearson finished the 1963 season sixth in points for Cotton Owens. He held two pole positions and had no wins.

In 1964, he had eight wins at Richmond, Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Occoneechee Speedway, Boyd Speedway, Lincoln Speedway, Rambi Raceway, Columbia Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway. Pearson finished third in the championship, which was won by Petty for the first time. He qualified on the pole position for 12 events.

NASCAR banned the Mopar Hemi engine in 1965, so Petty and Pearson boycotted many races rather than compete with a non-competitive engine against Ford and Mercury drivers. Both competed in drag racing. Pearson drove a Dodge Dart station wagon nicknamed the "Cotton Picker" for Owens. NASCAR owner Bill France, Sr. adjusted the engine rules later in the season to bring back Mopar drivers; Petty and Pearson ended up competing in 14 of 55 events. Pearson won two of the final 21 races (Columbia and Richmond) to finish 40th in the season points.

In his second full-time season, Pearson won his first of three NASCAR championships in 1966. He won 15 of 49 events, which was the second most in NASCAR history at that time. Early in the season, Pearson won at Hickory, Columbia, Greenville-Pickens, and Winston-Salem Speedway to complete four straight victories. Throughout the season, Pearson won at Richmond, Dog Track Speedway, New Asheville Speedway, Smokey Mountain Raceway, the second Greenville-Pickens race, Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Fonda Speedway, Bowman Gray Stadium, and the second Richmond race.

Pearson ran a partial season in 1967, competing in 22 of 48 races. He began the season racing for Cotton Owens before switching after the thirteenth race to Holman Moody. Pearson quit after there was a misunderstanding about who would drive the team's tow truck. Dodge decided to stop racing in NASCAR, so Pearson switched away from Owen's Dodges in favor of Holman Moody's Fords. He had two wins (Bristol, Greenville-Pickens), both for Owens, in a season that was dominated by Petty's all-time record 27 victories (including all-time record 10 straight). Pearson finished seventh in season points.

In the second season of running the full schedule, Petty and Pearson each won 16 races during 1968; Pearson won the championship and Petty finished third. Pearson competed primarily for Holman-Moody, winning at Bristol, Richmond, North Wilkesboro, Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, Darlington, Beltsville Speedway, Langley Field Speedway, Charlotte, Middle Georgia Raceway, Bristol, Nashville Speedway, Columbia, Bowman-Gray, Asheville-Weaverville, Hickory, and Augusta Speedway. He added twelve pole positions.

Pearson won his third and final championship in his final season running the full schedule in 1969. The championship tied Pearson with Lee Petty for the most championships in NASCAR history (Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson hold the current record with seven titles each). He started out the season at the 1969 Daytona 500 by being the first driver to qualify faster than 190 miles per hour with a speed of 190.029 miles per hour (305.822 km/h).

In 51 starts, he had 11 wins, 42 top-fives, and 44 top-tens. He earned a record $229,760 for his effort. Pearson completed 14,270 laps in 1969, which is the most laps ever in a NASCAR Cup season. He was one of eleven drivers to boycott the first race at Talladega after concerns with the tires; he rejoined the tour at the following event.

1970s

A Pearson Holman Moody car

The 1970 season started with Pearson competing part-time, as he would for the rest of his career. Pearson led the Daytona 500 under caution with 13 laps remaining and changed only his right side tires in a two-tire pit stop. Pete Hamilton did a four-tire stop and passed Pearson after the restart for the victory. In 19 starts, he won a single race (Darlington) and earned two pole positions (Bristol, Darlington) to finish 23rd in points.

R. J. Reynolds began sponsoring NASCAR in 1971 and the Grand National series was retitled the Winston Cup Series. Holman Moody and Pearson split near the middle of the season after Pearson refused to take a 10% pay cut. He won two races before the split (Daytona Twin 125 and Bristol) and four-second-place finishes. Pearson finished the season by competing in seven races for Ray Nichels. He recorded one top-ten finish (eighth at the July Daytona race), but suffered mechanical problems in all of the other races. For the season he finished 51st in points after competing in 17 races with nine top-tens and eight top-fives.

At R. J. Reynolds' request, NASCAR began cutting down on the number of races in 1972 season by eliminating midweek races. It also dropped 13 short tracks and had a 31-race schedule. Pearson began racing for the Wood Brothers that season. He raced in 17 of the events and had six wins, which earned him a 20th-place finish in the season points. Pearson was racing against Bobby Isaac and Buddy Baker at the end of the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway when Jimmy Crawford spun into Isaac; Pearson won the race. He won later that season at the Firecracker 400, a race that he would win three straight times.

While Pearson only started in 18 (of 28) races during 1973, he was named the NASCAR driver of the Year after finishing eighth in points. He won 11 of those 18 races in the Wood Brothers Mercury. His 61% win percentage is the highest in NASCAR history. He had wins at North Carolina Motor Speedway (Rockingham), Atlanta, Darlington, Martinsville, Talladega, Dover, Michigan, second Daytona race, second Atlanta race, second Dover race, and the second Rockingham race. The remaining seven races contained four Did Not Finishes (DNFs), two-second-place finishes and one third place. At the first Rockingham event, Pearson led 499 of 500 miles, giving up the lead only for a pit stop. He won eight pole positions with a 3.4 average starting position.

Pearson finished third in the 1974 points after competing in 19 of 30 events. It was the only season where drivers were awarded points based on their money earnings, which ended up rewarding drivers who finished high in the big-money races. He won seven races, including the Winston 500 by 0.17 seconds over Benny Parsons. Pearson began to earn the nickname of "silver fox" after the 1974 Firecracker 400. Entering the final lap, he was leading followed closely by Petty. Fearing that Petty would do a slingshot pass, he slowed a little, pulled his car off to the side to simulate a blown motor, and threw his hand up in the air as a motion of defeat. Petty quickly passed opening a lead of several car lengths exiting turn 2.Using the draft, Pearson closed in quickly down the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4 and drew right behind Petty. Coming out of the final corner, Pearson pulled to the inside and did a slingshot pass back to win the race by a car length. The International Race of Champions (IROC) invited him to participate in their first annual all-star stock car racing series for the 1973–74 season and he finished fourth of the twelve drivers.

In 1975, NASCAR changed to the points system that it would use for nearly three decades until the current Chase for the Cup format was implemented in 2004. ABC televised the second half of the 1975 Daytona 500 and drew a 10.5 rating opposite an 8.6 rating for an NBA game and a 4.1 for an NHL game. Pearson took the lead back from Benny Parsons on lap 177 and began to pull away. Petty, who was 8 laps down after several unscheduled pit stops due to engine overheating, began drafting with Parsons and the duo started closing on Pearson. With less than 3 laps to go Pearson collided Cale Yarborough on the backstretch and spun out into the grass. Parsons won the race by a lap over Bobby Allison. After the race, Pearson complained that Petty showed favoritism by helping Parsons. His attempt to win his third consecutive Winston 500 fell short when he was unable to catch Baker. Despite these near-wins, he won three times in 21 attempts. He finished 14th in points in the 30–event season. He competed in the second annual IROC season during 1974/75 and he finished sixth in points.

Pearson's No. 21 Mercury owned by the Wood Brothers

The 1976 Daytona 500 is known for the final lap battle between Pearson and Petty. In 2007, ESPN rated the race as the fourth most interesting Daytona 500. Petty was leading Pearson going into the last lap by a couple of car lengths. Pearson used the draft to attempt a slingshot pass against Petty at the end of the back stretch on the last lap, but his car pushed high into the final turn while going around another car. Petty edged under Pearson, and their cars crashed into each other on the frontstretch in the final turns. They both spun out into the infield grass approximately 100 feet (30 meters) short of the finish line. Benny Parsons who was driving the third place car, was over a lap behind the disabled cars. With Petty unable to restart his car, Pearson slowly drove his Wood Brothers Mercury over the grassy infield past the finish line for his only Daytona 500 victory. He won a series-best ten races in 1976, but finished ninth in season points after competing in only 22 of 30 events. He won his only IROC race at the first race of IROC III in 1975/1976 at Michigan International Speedway and finished fifth in points.

Pearson finished 13th in the 1977 NASCAR points, with two wins in 22 (of 30) races. IROC invited him to participate in IROC IV in 1976/77 and he finished ninth in the four race series.

He competed in 22 races (of 30) again in 1978, winning four times for a 16th-place finish in the season points. In March, Pearson won his 100th Winston Cup race at Rockingham. Late in the World 600, Pearson was battling for the win against Parsons until Parsons' spin collected both drivers. Darrell Waltrip edged Donnie Allison for the victory. Pearson competed in his final IROC race in June 1978 during IROC V.

Pearson began 1979 by winning the pole position at year's first race at Riverside; he finished in second place. 1979 was Pearson's final season racing for the Wood Brothers, with his last race happening at Darlington. After a miscommunication, he left the pits without waiting for the pit crew to place lug nuts on the car and the tires fell off the car when he reached the end of pit lane. Pearson quit the team after the race. Pearson had won 43 races between 1972 and 79 while driving for the Wood Brothers. Later during the season, Rod Osterlund's rookie driver, Dale Earnhardt, suffered a shoulder injury. Osterlund hired Pearson to replace Earnhardt during four races; he collected the pole position at Michigan and won the 1979 Southern 500. For the season, Pearson had competed in nine races and finished 32nd in points. Fans voted him as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver.

1980s

Pearson raced for Hoss Ellington during the 1980 season. He won the rain shortened 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 at Darlington for his final Cup win. He started nine times to finish 37th in season points. Pearson qualified on the pole position at Charlotte for his eleventh straight time and he had started on the front row in fifteen straight races between 1972 and 1980. In 1981, he raced in six races for four owners. His season was highlighted by winning the pole position for Kennie Childers at Dover and two Top 10 finishes at Darlington.

Bobby Hawkins hired Pearson to race in six events during 1982. He started on the pole position at Charlotte and Darlington and had top five finishes at the July Daytona race and Charlotte. He ended the 30-race season in 37th place in the point standings. Pearson entered his first NASCAR Busch Grand National (now Xfinity Series) race that season. He won the pole position for that race at Bristol and he finished second. Pearson raced in two more Busch races that season (Dover, North Carolina), starting second and first; he finished fifth and first. The North Carolina win was his only Busch victory.

Pearson raced in ten events for Hawkins in 1983. He had four top ten finishes, including eighth and third-place finishes at Daytona, and finished 33rd in points. He started from the pole position for his final Busch Grand National race at Dover; it resulted in a twelfth-place finish. In 1984, Pearson raced in eleven events for Hawkins and finished 41st in the season points. He had three top ten finishes, all ninth-place finishes, at the Daytona 500, World 600, and the Miller 400.

Pearson raced in twelve races during 1985, the first eight for Hoss Ellington and the final four for himself. He had an average start of 9.2, but ten DNFs resulted in an average finish over 30th place. He had one top ten finish at the July Daytona race and finished 36th in points. 1986 was Pearson's final season in NASCAR. Pearson drove his own car in two events. After a DNF at Charlotte, he finished tenth in his final race at the August Michigan event.

After a three-year hiatus, Pearson planned to come out of retirement in 1989, replacing the injured Neil Bonnett in the Wood Brothers' No. 21 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Following testing for the event, however, he suffered severe neck and back pain, and chose instead to announce his retirement; Tommy Ellis replaced Pearson for the race.

Legacy

The National Motor Sports Press Association's Hall of Fame inducted Pearson in 1991, and inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1993. He was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends in 1998. He was one of ten finalists for the Driver of the Quarter Century (1967–91) sponsored by a United States businessman; Mario Andretti won the award. In mid-1999, Sports Illustrated used votes from 40 NASCAR insiders to name Pearson the Top Stock Car Driver of the Twentieth Century.

In 2009, Pearson was one of the 25 nominees for the first class to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. NASCAR named the five people to be inducted in its 2010 class and it stated that he finished between sixth and eighth place. Pearson left the premises ten minutes after the inductees were announced. The snub drew public criticism and some writers predicted that he will be the headliner for the 2011 class.

At the induction ceremony, Pearson said that he felt the inaugural class should include more pioneers such as Raymond Parks, Tim Flock, and Lee Petty. Pearson said "I feel like if I was going in next year and I knew Raymond Parks wasn't, I'd withdraw my name to get him in." In 2010, Pearson was named to the 2011 class in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He received the most votes, from 50 of 53 voters. "I am just proud that that many people thought enough to vote for me", Pearson said. He added that he had not felt slighted by Bill France Jr. beating him into the 2010 class by one vote. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, 2011.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1960	Pearson Racing	67	Chevy	CLT	CLB	DAY 17	DAY	DAY 28	CLT 15	NWS 19	PHO	CLB 15	MAR DNQ	HCY	WIL	BGS	GPS 8	AWS	DAR	PIF 5	HBO 14	RCH	HMS	CLT 10	BGS	DAY 18	HEI	MAB	MBS 11	ATL 32	BIR	NSV	AWS	PIF 18	CLB 19	SBO	BGS	DAR 27	HCY 4	CSF	GSP 2	HBO 15	MAR 7	NWS 8	CLT 21	RCH	ATL 25																			23rd	5956
1961				CLT 5	JSP 16	DAY			PIF 3	AWS	HMS		GPS 10	HBO	BGS	MAR	NWS	CLB 14	HCY	RCH	MAR	DAR	CLT	CLT	RSD	ASP		PIF 17	BIR	GPS 17	BGS	NOR	HAS 4	STR			CLB 17	MBS																												13th	13088
	Tony Lavati	66	Pontiac				DAY 17	DAY 21
	Pearson Racing	26	Pontiac									ATL 40
	John Masoni	3	Pontiac																								CLT 1*								DAY 1	ATL 40			BRI 30	NSV	BGS	AWS	RCH	SBO	DAR 3	HCY	RCH	CSF	ATL 1	MAR	NWS	CLT 21	BRI	GPS	HBO
1962	Fox Racing	39	Pontiac	CON	AWS	DAY	DAY	DAY 6	CON	AWS	SVH	HBO	RCH	CLB																																																				10th	14404
	Julian Petty	44	Pontiac												NWS 33	GPS	MBS	MAR	BGS
	Owens Racing	6	Pontiac																	BRI 7	RCH	HCY	CON																									DAR 4	HCY	RCH	DTS	AUG	MAR	NWS	CLT 23
	Fox Racing	3	Pontiac																					DAR 7	PIF 14	CLT 7*	ATL 7	BGS	AUG	RCH	SBO	DAY 8	CLB	ASH	GPS	AUG	SVH	MBS	BRI 37	CHT	NSV	HUN	AWS	STR	BGS	PIF	VAL
	Bud Moore Engineering	08	Pontiac																																																					ATL 11
1963	Owens Racing	6	Dodge	BIR	GGS	THS 4	RSD 33	DAY	DAY 18	DAY 48	PIF 18	AWS 18				BRI 31	AUG	RCH 14	GPS 5	SBO 8	BGS	MAR 9	NWS 6	CLB	THS	DAR 12	ODS	RCH	CLT 5	BIR 13	ATL 34	DAY 6	MBS	SVH 2	DTS	BGS 11	ASH 3	OBS	BRR 4	BRI 5	GPS 6	NSV 16	CLB 2	AWS 4	PIF 16	BGS 4	ONA	DAR 14	HCY 18	RCH 15	MAR 4		NWS 8		CLT 11	SBO 2	HBO 15	RSD 13								8th	21156
		5											HBO 19																																							DTS 3		THS 14
	Nichels Engineering	02	Pontiac											ATL 26	HCY
1964	Owens Racing	5	Dodge	CON 4			SVH 12																																																											3rd	32146
		6			AUG 17	JSP 16		RSD 6	DAY 3	DAY	DAY 30	RCH 1	BRI 28	GPS 1	BGS 5	ATL 21	AWS 4	HBO 1*	PIF 3	CLB 6	NWS 11	MAR 18	SVH 7	DAR 6	LGY 12	HCY 2*	SBO 4	CLT 8	GPS 10*	ASH 4	ATL 23	CON 2*	NSV 2	CHT 1*	BIR 4	VAL 8	PIF 16*	DAY 6	ODS 2	OBS 5*	BRR 8	ISP 14	GLN 6	LIN 1	BRI 17	NSV 3	MBS 1*	AWS 2	DTS 2*	ONA 17	CLB 1	BGS 4	STR 4	DAR 12	HCY 1*	RCH 2	ODS 2	HBO 14*	MAR 8	SVH 3	NWS 17	CLT 7	HAR 15	AUG 29	JAC 10
1965				RSD	DAY	DAY	DAY	PIF	ASW	RCH	HBO	ATL	GPS	NWS	MAR	CLB	BRI	DAR	LGY	BGS	HCY	CLT	CCF	ASH	HAR	NSV	BIR	ATL	GPS	MBS	VAL	DAY	ODS	OBS	ISP	GLN	BRI 36	NSV	CCF 5*	AWS 15	SMR 9	PIF 10*	AUG 2	CLB 1	DTS	BLV	BGS	DAR	HCY 2	LIN 3	ODS	RCH 1	MAR 3	NWS 4	CLT	HBO 6	CAR 25	DTS								40th	5464
1966				AUG 6	RSD 2	DAY	DAY 6	DAY 3	CAR 8	BRI 15*	ATL 14	HCY 1	CLB 1*	GPS 1*	BGS 1*	NWS 3	MAR 9	DAR 3	LGY 19	MGR	MON	RCH 1*	CLT 17*	DTS 1*	ASH 1*	PIF 16	SMR 1*	AWS 2	BLV 27	GPS 1*	DAY 15	ODS	BRR 1*	OXF 7	FON 1*	ISP 4	BRI 3	SMR 2*	NSV	ATL 44	CLB 1	AWS 13	BLV	BGS 1*	DAR 3	HCY 1*	RCH 1*	HBO 2	MAR 35	NWS 2	CLT 10	CAR 7														1st	35638
1967				AUG 3	RSD 8	DAY 7	DAY	DAY 24	AWS 4	BRI 1	GPS 1*	BGS 15	ATL 21	CLB	HCY	NWS 26	MAR	SVH	RCH																																															7th	26302
	Holman-Moody	17	Ford																	DAR 2	BLV	LGY	CLT 2	ASH	MGR	SMR	BIR	CAR 21	GPS	MGY	DAY 4*	TRN	OXF	FDA	ISP	BRI 28	SMR	NSV	ATL 19	BGS	CLB	SVH	DAR 2	HCY	RCH	BLV	HBO	MAR 3	NWS 34	CLT 24	CAR 2	AWS 3
1968				MGR 11	MGY 22	RSD 2	DAY 5	BRI 1*	RCH 1*	ATL 31	HCY 2	GPS 14*	CLB 7	NWS 1*	MAR 2	AUG	AWS 1*	DAR 1*	BLV 1	LGY 1*	CLT 4	ASH 21	MGR 1*	SMR 15	BIR 18	CAR 30	GPS 2*	DAY 3	ISP 2	OXF 2	FDA 5	TRN 2	BRI 1*	SMR 3	NSV 1	ATL 4	CLB 1*	BGS 1	AWS 1*	SBO 2	LGY 1*	DAR 2	HCY 1	RCH 2		HBO 12	MAR 6	NWS 2	AUG 1	CLT 3*	CAR 2	JFC 3														1st	3499
	Roy Trantham	84	Ford																																										BLV 23
1969	Holman-Moody	17	Ford	MGR 2	MGY	RSD 3	DAY 1	DAY	DAY 6	CAR 1*	AUG 1	BRI 3	ATL 2	CLB 2	HCY 3	GPS 3	RCH 1*	NWS 3	MAR 2	AWS 21	DAR 5	BLV 13	LGY 1	CLT 42	MGR 2	SMR 2	MCH 2	KPT 3	GPS 2	NCF 1*	DAY 4	DOV 23	TPN 1*	TRN 1	BLV 2*	BRI 1*	NSV 6	SMR 2	ATL 2	MCH 1*	SBO 2	BGS 3	AWS 2	DAR 2	HCY 21	RCH 4	TAL Wth	CLB 19	MAR 2	NWS 1	CLT 5	SVH 3	AUG 3	CAR 2	JFC 2	MGR 2*	TWS 26									1st	4170
1970				RSD 17	DAY 23	DAY	DAY 2*	RCH	CAR	SVH	ATL	BRI 18	TAL 3	NWS	CLB	DAR 1*	BLV	LGY	CLT 14	SMR		MCH 3	RSD	HCY	KPT	GPS	DAY 8	AST	TPN	TRN	BRI 22	SMR	NSV	ATL 32	CLB	ONA	MCH 37	TAL 4	BGS	SBO	DAR 4	HCY	RCH	DOV 4	NCF	NWS	CLT 39	MAR 6	MGR	CAR 2	LGY															23rd	1716
	Junior Johnson	98	Ford																		MAR 4
1971	Holman-Moody	17	Ford	RSD 35	DAY							BRI 1	ATL 4	CLB	GPS 2	SMR	NWS 2	MAR 2																																																51st	486
			Mercury			DAY 1	DAY 4	ONT	RCH	CAR									DAR 31	SBO
	Giachetti Brothers	44	Ford								HCY 2
	Nichels Engineering	33	Pontiac																		TAL 43	ASH	KPT	CLT 34	DOV	MCH 33	RSD	HOU	GPS
		17	Plymouth																											DAY 8	BRI	AST	ISP	TRN	NSV	ATL	BGS	ONA	MCH
			Pontiac																																					TAL DNQ	CLB	HCY	DAR 35	MAR	CLT	DOV					TWS 48
		99																																													CAR 36	MGR	RCH	NWS

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1972	Bud Moore Engineering	15	Ford	RSD 26	DAY	RCH	ONT	CAR	ATL 4	BRI																									20th	4718
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Mercury								DAR 1*	NWS		TAL 1*	CLT 25	DOV	MCH 1*	RSD	TWS	DAY 1*	BRI	TRN	ATL 3*	TAL 26	MCH 1*	NSV	DAR 2		DOV 1*	MAR 3	NWS	CLT 3	CAR 4	TWS
			Ford										MAR 8
	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford																									RCH 24
1973	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Mercury	RSD 22	DAY 33	RCH	CAR 1*	BRI	ATL 1*	NWS	DAR 1*	MAR 1	TAL 1*	NSV	CLT 2	DOV 1*	TWS	RSD	MCH 1	DAY 1*	BRI	ATL 1*	TAL 3*	NSV	DAR 2	RCH	DOV 1*	NWS	MAR 31	CLT 36	CAR 1*				13th	5382.8
1974				RSD 3	DAY 35	RCH	CAR 34	BRI	ATL 2*	DAR 1*	NWS	MAR	TAL 1*	NSV	DOV 2	CLT 1*	RSD	MCH 3	DAY 1	BRI	NSV	ATL 2*	POC 4	TAL 2	MCH 1*	DAR 25	RCH	DOV 30	NWS	MAR	CLT 1*	CAR 1	ONT 2		3rd	2389.25
1975				RSD 2	DAY 4*	RCH	CAR 2	BRI	ATL 3	NWS	DAR 7*	MAR 20	TAL 2	NSV	DOV 1*	CLT 3	RSD	MCH 1*	DAY 20	NSV	POC 1*	TAL 39	MCH 2	DAR 27	DOV 26	NWS	MAR 23	CLT 2	RCH	CAR 25	BRI	ATL 4	ONT 2		14th	3057
1976				RSD 1*	DAY 1	CAR 29	RCH	BRI	ATL 1	NWS	DAR 1	MAR 3	TAL 37	NSV	DOV 2	CLT 1*	RSD 1	MCH 1	DAY 2	NSV	POC 4*	TAL 28	MCH 1	BRI	DAR 1*	RCH	DOV 3	MAR 19	NWS	CLT 6	CAR 6	ATL 2	ONT 1*		9th	3483
1977				RSD 1	DAY 21	RCH	CAR 32	ATL 2	NWS	DAR 4*	BRI	MAR 5	TAL 22	NSV	DOV 2*	CLT 2	RSD 2	MCH 4	DAY 5	NSV	POC 28	TAL 37	MCH 2	BRI	DAR 1	RCH	DOV 2	MAR 3	NWS	CLT 3	CAR 27	ATL 2	ONT 5		13th	3227
1978				RSD 3	DAY 34	RCH	CAR 1*	ATL 21	BRI	DAR 29	NWS	MAR 21	TAL 35	DOV 1	CLT 5	NSV	RSD 27	MCH 2	DAY 1*	NSV	POC 2	TAL 5	MCH 1	BRI	DAR 28	RCH	DOV 4	MAR 25	NWS	CLT 5	CAR 24	ATL 32	ONT 38		16th	2756
1979				RSD 2	DAY 37	CAR 23	RCH	ATL 18	NWS	BRI	DAR 22	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC													32nd	1203
	Osterlund Racing	2	Olds																				TAL 2
			Chevy																					MCH 4	BRI 7	DAR 1	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NWS	CAR	ATL	ONT
1980	Ellington Racing	1	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR 1*	NWS	MAR				CLT 6	TWS	RSD	MCH 25							DAR 2	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT 38	CAR			37th	1004
			Olds										TAL 3	NSV	DOV					DAY 2	NSV	POC	TAL 17	MCH	BRI								ATL 31	ONT
1981	Halpern Enterprises	16	Chevy	RSD	DAY 29	RCH	CAR 30	ATL 32	BRI	NWS	DAR 8	MAR	TAL	NSV																					70th	-
	Kennie Childers Racing	12	Olds												DOV 25	CLT	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI
	Ellington Racing	01	Buick																							DAR 8	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD
1982	Bobby Hawkins Racing	03	Buick	DAY	RCH	BRI	ATL	CAR	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT 21	POC	RSD	MCH 36	DAY 5	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH 31	BRI	DAR 37	RCH	DOV	NWS	CLT 3	MAR	CAR	ATL	RSD		37th	613
1983		16	Chevy	DAY 8	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR 22	NWS	MAR	TAL 31	NSV	DOV	BRI	CLT 39	RSD	POC	MCH 35	DAY 3	NSV	POC	TAL 25	MCH 9	BRI	DAR 10	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 39	CAR	ATL	RSD		33rd	943
1984				DAY 9	RCH 32	CAR	ATL	BRI	NWS	DAR 37	MAR	TAL 32	NSV	DOV	CLT 9	RSD		MCH 9	DAY 17	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH 39	BRI	DAR 41	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT 38	NWS	CAR	ATL 25	RSD		41st	812
	Junior Johnson & Associates	12	Chevy														POC QL†
1985	Ellington Racing	21	Chevy	DAY 28	RCH	CAR	ATL 29	BRI	DAR 28	NWS	MAR	TAL 36	DOV	CLT 27	RSD	POC	MCH 17	DAY 10	POC 35																36th	879
	Pearson Racing		Ford																	TAL 35	MCH 39	BRI	DAR 40	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 37	CAR	ATL	RSD
1986			Chevy	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT 36	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH 10	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD			82nd	134
† – Qualified for Neil Bonnett

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1960	Pearson Racing	Chevrolet	33	28
1961	Tony Lavati	Pontiac	30	21
1962	Fox Racing	Pontiac	2	6
1963	Owens Racing	Dodge	50	48
1964			7	30
1966			12	3
1967			15	24
1968	Holman-Moody	Ford	4	5
1969			3	6
1970			31	2
1971		Mercury	4	4
1973	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	20	33
1974			1	35
1975			2	4
1976			7	1
1977			5	21
1978			5	34
1979			9	37
1981	Halpern Enterprises	Chevrolet	9	29
1983	Bobby Hawkins Racing	Chevrolet	15	8
1984			11	9
1985	Ellington Racing	Chevrolet	4	28

Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series

NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NBLMSSC	Pts	Ref
1982	Pearson Racing	21	Pontiac	DAY	RCH	BRI 2*	MAR	DAR 3	HCY	SBO	CRW	RCH	LGY	DOV 5	HCY	CLT	ASH	HCY	SBO	CAR 1	CRW	SBO	HCY	LGY	IRP 19	BRI	HCY	RCH	MAR	CLT	HCY	MAR							35th	776
1983			Ford	DAY	RCH	CAR	HCY	MAR	NWS	SBO	GPS	LGY	DOV 12	BRI	CLT	SBO	HCY	ROU	SBO	ROU	CRW	ROU	SBO	HCY	LGY	IRP	GPS	BRI	HCY	DAR	RCH	NWS	SBO	MAR	ROU	CLT	HCY	MAR	112th	127

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Season	Make	Q1	Q2	Q3	1	2	3	4	Pos.	Pts	Ref
1973–74	Porsche				RSD 9	RSD 2	RSD 4	DAY 4	4th	$14,600
1974–75	Chevy				MCH 3	RSD 4	RSD 11	DAY 5	6th	$16,500
1975–76					MCH 1	RSD 10	RSD 8	DAY 4	5th	$21,000
1976–77					MCH 10	RSD 2	RSD 11	DAY 6	9th	$10,500
1978–79		MCH 5	MCH	RSD	RSD	ATL			NA	-

Personal life

Pearson's wife Helen Ruth Pearson predeceased him in 1991. He had three sons, Larry Pearson, Ricky Pearson, and Eddie Pearson. Larry raced in NASCAR and he was the 1986 and 1987 Busch Series champion. Ricky Pearson was general manager and a crew chief for Buckshot Jones/Buckshot Racing when they won two Busch Series races.

In December 2014, Pearson suffered a mild stroke which partially paralyzed the left half of his body, from which he recovered. Pearson died on November 12, 2018, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at the age of 83. No cause was given.

External links

• David Pearson driver statistics at Racing-Reference