David Pearson, a three-time champion in what is now NASCAR’s Monster Energy Cup Series, and the winner of 105 Cup races, died Monday at 83, the Wood Brothers Racing team confirmed to ESPN.
Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in its second class in 2011, Pearson won 105 Cup races, second only to Richard Petty, Pearson’s chief rival in the 1960s and ’70s. Between 1963-77, the two finished first and second in 63 races, with Pearson winning 33 of them.
In 2016, Autoweek asked Petty who was the best he ever raced against and Pearson was his response.
“Day in and day out, all different kind of tracks and all different kind of circumstances, he probably had more natural talent than anybody,” Petty said. “He never tried anything hard (made everything look easy). Cale Yarborough would get all intense; Bobby Allison would get all intense. But Pearson would be over there just smoking his cigarettes, saying, “Hey, whatever’s next.” I think our personalities were probably closer than any two drivers back then.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski were among several drivers to pay tributes on Twitter to Pearson on Monday.
David Pearson was one of the all time greats. Anyone who raced him will tell you he was the best. The Silver Fox lived up to his persona on and off the track. What a badass. RIP pic.twitter.com/LGGJ7ZIje9
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) November 13, 2018
RIP David Pearson.
I’d have to say if their was one driver who inspired me the most on the race track it was you. Always gritty, witty and in position at the end when it counted.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) November 13, 2018
Known as the “Silver Fox” for his penchant of lying in wait while others used up their cars by charging to the lead early in races, Pearson often seemingly came out of nowhere to take the lead in a race’s waning laps.
His signature win came in the 1976 Daytona 500, when he passed Petty for the lead on the backstretch on the final lap, only for Petty to make contact trying to regain the lead coming out of Turn 4. Both cars hit the wall and spun into the infield just shy of the finish line.
Pearson was able to refire his Wood Brothers Ford and passed Petty’s stalled Dodge for the win.
While Petty won 200 Cup races to Pearson’s 105, Pearson’s accomplishments are remarkable in that he won the championship the only three times he ran for it. During his years driving for the Wood Brothers, the team focused only on the bigger races, leaving him out of championship contention.
During his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Pearson reminisced and joked about his battles with Petty.
“He’s probably the one that made me win as many as I did,” Pearson said. “I run hard because he’d make me run hard.
“Sometimes he would make a mistake and I’d pass him. Of course, I didn’t never make no mistakes — always accused him of having big engines when he passed me. But he’s a good sport. Like I say, I’ve had more fun running with him than anybody I ever run with ’cause I know if I ever went to a racetrack and he was there, if I could beat him, I’d win the race.”
Pearson’s most successful track was in his home state. He won 10 times at Darlington Raceway.
“His fierce competitiveness and passion for the sport endeared him to the NASCAR faithful,” Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp said. “His Hall of Fame career will go down as one of the most prolific in the history of the sport. … He will be missed and will always be remembered.”
Pearson’s first championship came in 1966, when he won 15 of his 42 starts; followed by championships in ’68 (16 wins in 48 starts) and ’69 (11 wins in 51 starts).
ESPN’s Bob Pockrass contributed to this report.