David Pearson Born In Spartanburg, South Carolina - December 22, 1934

December 22, 1934

David Pearson

(Photo; racing-reference.info)

Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.

When Pearson was young, he climbed a tree at the local stock car racing track at 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 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.

Pearson began his NASCAR career in 1960 and ended his first season by winning the 1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award. He won three championships (1966, 1968, and 1969) every year he ran the full schedule in NASCAR's Grand National Series. NASCAR described his 1974 season as an indication of his "consistent greatness"; that season he finished third in the season points having competed in only 19 of 30 races.

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 currently 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. Pearson was nicknamed the "Fox", and later the "Silver Fox" for his calculated approach to racing. ESPN described him as being a "plain-spoken, humble man, and that added up to very little charisma."

Pearson's career paralleled Richard Petty's, the driver who won the most races in NASCAR history. They accounted for 63 first/second place finishes with the edge going to Pearson. Petty said, "Pearson 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."

The National Motor Sports Press Association's Hall of Fame inducted Pearson in 1991. 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 in 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.