David Pearson

• Born: December 22, 1934
• Birthplace: Spartanburg, SC
• Died: November 12, 2018
• Place of death: Spartanburg, SC

Sport: Auto racing

Early Life

David Gene Pearson was born on December 22, 1934, in Whitney, South Carolina. His parents were cotton-mill workers. He grew up in the town of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Pearson family was poor, and it was expected that he would also work in a cotton mill as soon as he was old enough. His life changed, though, after he went to his first car race. He was only ten, but he knew even at that young age that he wanted to be a race-car driver. At every opportunity, he tinkered with old cars, but he kept his dream of racing to himself so as not to worry his mother. By the time he was a teenager, he was mechanically adept enough to build his own engine. He dropped out of high school and, in 1952, he raced for the first time, driving a 1940 Ford at Woodruff Speedway in Woodruff, South Carolina.

The Road to Excellence

Pearson was certain after his first race that he did not want to do anything with his life except race. Soon, he was considered a celebrity on the dirt track circuit. Throughout the 1950s, he continued to improve as a driver, hoping that one day he could join the Grand National circuit of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).

In 1959, Pearson won thirty of the forty-two dirt track races he entered. At the time, he was working in a gas station to supplement his meager race winnings. The owner of the station, along with some of Pearson's friends, located a 1959 Chevrolet that had been used on the Grand National circuit. He did not have enough money to buy the car himself, so friends started a fan club to help raise the funds needed to purchase the car. As a result, he was able to start racing his 1959 Chevrolet on the Grand National circuit in 1960.

Pearson's first year on the circuit was frustrating because the Chevy was unable to perform well enough for him to win any races. He competed in twenty-two races that year and finished in the top ten in only seven. This was not up to Pearson's dirt-track performance standards, but it was good enough for him to capture rookie of the year.

The Emerging Champion

Pearson had thoughts of going back to the minor circuit, where he could win. He knew that he was a good driver, but he needed someone to put his car in racing condition. Ray Fox, a car builder and master mechanic, came along to fill the gap and make his car competitive. Pearson could concentrate on racing to win because he knew that his car had been properly overhauled. In 1961, he came away with wins in the World 600, the Firecracker 250, and the Dixie 400. No second-year driver on the Grand National circuit had ever before won three races in one year.

The next two years were disappointing for Pearson because he did not win any of the fifty-three races in which he competed. In 1964, his luck changed after he switched to a Dodge car owned by Cotton Owens. He won eight times during the year, although he was frustrated by not winning any of the major races. The 1966 season turned out to be one of his best. He won fifteen Grand National races that year and, along with the points he had earned in the superspeedway races, came away with the year’s NASCAR Grand National championship. This was the first of three driving championships that he would win.

Before the 1967 season ended, Pearson decided to switch to Ford. By the time he started racing the following year, he had a whole new team behind him that included Dick Hutcherson as his crew chief and Ralph Moody as his overall supervisor. With the help of his new team, he was in top form for the year. He managed to win sixteen times and finish in the top five another thirty-six times, capturing his second NASCAR Championship.

What Pearson wanted next was to match Lee Petty’s achievement of back-to-back championships. In 1969, he did not disappoint himself or his fans. He captured eleven victories and was in the top five in forty-two additional races. He won his third NASCAR Championship and equaled the record of Lee Petty, who had won the championship in 1954, 1958, and 1959.

Continuing the Story

Starting in 1970, Pearson began to cut back on the number of races in which he competed during the year so that he could concentrate on the major races. During the early 1970s, he averaged only eighteen races per year. In 1971, he began having trouble with his team after Ford Motor Company pulled its support from racing. He knew it was time to become affiliated with a new team. Glen and Leonard Wood of Stuart, Virginia, sought out Pearson and made a deal with him to drive for the Woods-Purolator Mercury team in 1972. In 1973, he won eleven of the eighteen races he entered and was voted by the National Motorsports Press Association as the American driver of the year. In 1976, he became the first man to receive this award a second time. In that year, he also became the first driver to win the Western 500 and the Daytona 500 in the same year, and only the second driver to win the NASCAR triple crown: The Daytona 500, the World 600, and the Southern 500.

From 1960 through 1985, Pearson won a total of 105 Grand National titles. At the time of his retirement, he held the record for the best career winning percentage on the NASCAR circuit, winning one out of every five and a half races in which he started. He and his wife, Helen, were married in 1952, and they had three sons. Their oldest son, Larry, continued the family racing tradition. During his retirement, he spent time getting exercise at a local YMCA and socializing with friends. Occasionally, he participated in exhibition races. In 2011, he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Having struggled with health issues in the 2010s that included what was reported as a mild stroke, Pearson died on November 12, 2018, at the age of eighty-three.

Summary

David Pearson was one of the most popular and successful NASCAR drivers of all time. His determination and driving skills pulled him out of childhood poverty and took him to the top of his chosen profession. Throughout the ups and downs of his racing career, he remained a respected individual and competitor; he will long be remembered as one of the greats of racing.

Bibliography

Goldstein, Richard. "David Pearson, 'Silver Fox' of Stock Car Racing, Dies at 83." The New York Times, 12 Nov. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/obituaries/david-pearson-nascar-dead.html. Accessed 24 Aug. 2020.

Golenbock, Peter. NASCAR Confidential: Stories of the Men and Women Who Made Stock Car Racing Great. St. Paul, Minn.: Motorbooks International, 2004.

Hembree, Michael. NASCAR: The Definitive History of America’s Sport. New York: HarperEntertainment, 2000.

Huff, Richard M. Stock Car Racing: Running with NASCAR’s Best. Chicago: Bonus Books, 2000.

Hunter, Jim, and David Pearson. Twenty-one Forever: The Story of Stock Car Racer David Pearson. Huntsville, Ala.: Strode, 1980.

Poole, David, and James McLaurin. NASCAR Essential: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan! Chicago: Triumph Books, 2007.

Sowers, Richard. Stock Car Racing Lives. Phoenix, Ariz.: David Bull, 2000.