Дэвид Пирсон: NASCAR-дың күміс түлкісі

American racing driver (1934–2018)

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. 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. 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." 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. 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. 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 began the season racing for Fox until Fox retired; He had seven top ten finishes and no wins. He held two pole positions and had no wins. Pearson finished third in the championship, which was won by Petty for the first time. 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. He won 15 of 49 events, which was the second most in NASCAR history at that time. Pearson quit after there was a misunderstanding about who would drive the team's tow truck. Pearson finished seventh in season points. 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. 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
In 51 starts, he had 11 wins, 42 top fives, and 44 top tens. He earned a record $229,760 for his effort. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. He won eight pole positions with a 3.4 average starting position. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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. Pearson began 1979 by winning the pole position at year's first race at Riverside; he finished in second place. 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. Fans voted him as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver.

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. 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. His season was highlighted by winning the pole position for Kennie Childers at Dover and two Top 10 finishes at Darlington. He started on the pole position at Charlotte and Darlington and had top five finishes at the July Daytona race and Charlotte. 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. He had four top ten finishes, including eighth and third place finishes at Daytona, and finished 33rd in points. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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

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 Pts Ref 1960 Pearson Racing 67 Chevy CLT CLB DAY17 DAY DAY28 CLT15 NWS19 PHO CLB15 MARDNQ HCY WIL BGS GPS8 AWS DAR PIF5 HBO14 RCH HMS CLT10 BGS DAY18 HEI MAB MBS11 ATL32 BIR NSV AWS PIF18 CLB19 SBO BGS DAR27 HCY4 CSF GSP2 HBO15 MAR7 NWS8 CLT21 RCH ATL25 23rd 5956 1961 CLT5 JSP16 DAY PIF3 AWS HMS GPS10 HBO BGS MAR NWS CLB14 HCY RCH MAR DAR CLT CLT RSD ASP PIF17 BIR GPS17 BGS NOR HAS4 STR CLB17 MBS 13th 13088 Tony Lavati 66 Pontiac DAY17 DAY21 Pearson Racing 26 Pontiac ATL40 John Masoni 3 Pontiac CLT1* DAY1 ATL40 BRI30 NSV BGS AWS RCH SBO DAR3 HCY RCH CSF ATL1 MAR NWS CLT21 BRI GPS HBO 1962 Fox Racing 39 Pontiac CON AWS DAY DAY DAY6 CON AWS SVH HBO RCH CLB 10th 14404 Julian Petty 44 Pontiac NWS33 GPS MBS MAR BGS Owens Racing 6 Pontiac BRI7 RCH HCY CON DAR4 HCY RCH DTS AUG MAR NWS CLT23 Fox Racing 3 Pontiac DAR7 PIF14 CLT7* ATL7 BGS AUG RCH SBO DAY8 CLB ASH GPS AUG SVH MBS BRI37 CHT NSV HUN AWS STR BGS PIF VAL Bud Moore Engineering 08 Pontiac ATL11 1963 Owens Racing 6 Dodge BIR GGS THS4 RSD33 DAY DAY18 DAY48 PIF18 AWS18 BRI31 AUG RCH14 GPS5 SBO8 BGS MAR9 NWS6 CLB THS DAR12 ODS RCH CLT5 BIR13 ATL34 DAY6 MBS SVH2 DTS BGS11 ASH3 OBS BRR4 BRI5 GPS6 NSV16 CLB2 AWS4 PIF16 BGS4 ONA DAR14 HCY18 RCH15 MAR4 NWS8 CLT11 SBO2 HBO15 RSD13 8th 21156 5 HBO19 DTS3 THS14 Nichels Engineering 02 Pontiac ATL26 HCY 1964 Owens Racing 5 Dodge CON4 SVH12 3rd 32146 6 AUG17 JSP16 RSD6 DAY3 DAY DAY30 RCH1 BRI28 GPS1 BGS5 ATL21 AWS4 HBO1* PIF3 CLB6 NWS11 MAR18 SVH7 DAR6 LGY12 HCY2* SBO4 CLT8 GPS10* ASH4 ATL23 CON2* NSV2 CHT1* BIR4 VAL8 PIF16* DAY6 ODS2 OBS5* BRR8 ISP14 GLN6 LIN1 BRI17 NSV3 MBS1* AWS2 DTS2* ONA17 CLB1 BGS4 STR4 DAR12 HCY1* RCH2 ODS2 HBO14* MAR8 SVH3 NWS17 CLT7 HAR15 AUG29 JAC10 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 BRI36 NSV CCF5* AWS15 SMR9 PIF10* AUG2 CLB1 DTS BLV BGS DAR HCY2 LIN3 ODS RCH1 MAR3 NWS4 CLT HBO6 CAR25 DTS 40th 5464 1966 AUG6 RSD2 DAY DAY6 DAY3 CAR8 BRI15* ATL14 HCY1 CLB1* GPS1* BGS1* NWS3 MAR9 DAR3 LGY19 MGR MON RCH1* CLT17* DTS1* ASH1* PIF16 SMR1* AWS2 BLV27 GPS1* DAY15 ODS BRR1* OXF7 FON1* ISP4 BRI3 SMR2* NSV ATL44 CLB1 AWS13 BLV BGS1* DAR3 HCY1* RCH1* HBO2 MAR35 NWS2 CLT10 CAR7 1st 35638 1967 AUG3 RSD8 DAY7 DAY DAY24 AWS4 BRI1 GPS1* BGS15 ATL21 CLB HCY NWS26 MAR SVH RCH 7th 26302 Holman Moody 17 Ford DAR2 BLV LGY CLT2 ASH MGR SMR BIR CAR21 GPS MGY DAY4* TRN OXF FDA ISP BRI28 SMR NSV ATL19 BGS CLB SVH DAR2 HCY RCH BLV HBO MAR3 NWS34 CLT24 CAR2 AWS3 1968 MGR11 MGY22 RSD2 DAY5 BRI1* RCH1* ATL31 HCY2 GPS14* CLB7 NWS1* MAR2 AUG AWS1* DAR1* BLV1 LGY1* CLT4 ASH21 MGR1* SMR15 BIR18 CAR30 GPS2* DAY3 ISP2 OXF2 FDA5 TRN2 BRI1* SMR3 NSV1 ATL4 CLB1* BGS1 AWS1* SBO2 LGY1* DAR2 HCY1 RCH2 HBO12 MAR6 NWS2 AUG1 CLT3* CAR2 JFC3 1st 3499 Roy Trantham 84 Ford BLV23 1969 Holman Moody 17 Ford MGR2 MGY RSD3 DAY1 DAY DAY6 CAR1* AUG1 BRI3 ATL2 CLB2 HCY3 GPS3 RCH1* NWS3 MAR2 AWS21 DAR5 BLV13 LGY1 CLT42 MGR2 SMR2 MCH2 KPT3 GPS2 NCF1* DAY4 DOV23 TPN1* TRN1 BLV2* BRI1* NSV6 SMR2 ATL2 MCH1* SBO2 BGS3 AWS2 DAR2 HCY21 RCH4 TALWth CLB19 MAR2 NWS1 CLT5 SVH3 AUG3 CAR2 JFC2 MGR2* TWS26 1st 4170 1970 RSD17 DAY23 DAY DAY2* RCH CAR SVH ATL BRI18 TAL3 NWS CLB DAR1* BLV LGY CLT14 SMR MCH3 RSD HCY KPT GPS DAY8 AST TPN TRN BRI22 SMR NSV ATL32 CLB ONA MCH37 TAL4 BGS SBO DAR4 HCY RCH DOV4 NCF NWS CLT39 MAR6 MGR CAR2 LGY 23rd 1716 Junior Johnson 98 Ford MAR4 1971 Holman Moody 17 Ford RSD35 DAY BRI1 ATL4 CLB GPS2 SMR NWS2 MAR2 51st 486 Mercury DAY1 DAY4 ONT RCH CAR DAR31 SBO Giachetti Brothers 44 Ford HCY2 Nichels Engineering 33 Pontiac TAL43 ASH KPT CLT34 DOV MCH33 RSD HOU GPS 17 Plymouth DAY8 BRI AST ISP TRN NSV ATL BGS ONA MCH Pontiac TALDNQ CLB HCY DAR35 MAR CLT DOV TWS48 99 CAR36 MGR RCH NWS

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 Pts Ref 1972 Bud Moore Engineering 15 Ford RSD26 DAY RCH ONT CAR ATL4 BRI 20th 4718 Wood Brothers Racing 21 Mercury DAR1* NWS TAL1* CLT25 DOV MCH1* RSD TWS DAY1* BRI TRN ATL3* TAL26 MCH1* NSV DAR2 DOV1* MAR3 NWS CLT3 CAR4 TWS Ford MAR8 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford RCH24 1973 Wood Brothers Racing 21 Mercury RSD22 DAY33 RCH CAR1* BRI ATL1* NWS DAR1* MAR1 TAL1* NSV CLT2 DOV1* TWS RSD MCH1 DAY1* BRI ATL1* TAL3* NSV DAR2 RCH DOV1* NWS MAR31 CLT36 CAR1* 13th 5382.8 1974 RSD3 DAY35 RCH CAR34 BRI ATL2* DAR1* NWS MAR TAL1* NSV DOV2 CLT1* RSD MCH3 DAY1 BRI NSV ATL2* POC4 TAL2 MCH1* DAR25 RCH DOV30 NWS MAR CLT1* CAR1 ONT2 3rd 2389.25 1975 RSD2 DAY4* RCH CAR2 BRI ATL3 NWS DAR7* MAR20 TAL2 NSV DOV1* CLT3 RSD MCH1* DAY20 NSV POC1* TAL39 MCH2 DAR27 DOV26 NWS MAR23 CLT2 RCH CAR25 BRI ATL4 ONT2 14th 3057 1976 RSD1* DAY1 CAR29 RCH BRI ATL1 NWS DAR1 MAR3 TAL37 NSV DOV2 CLT1* RSD1 MCH1 DAY2 NSV POC4* TAL28 MCH1 BRI DAR1* RCH DOV3 MAR19 NWS CLT6 CAR6 ATL2 ONT1* 9th 3483 1977 RSD1 DAY21 RCH CAR32 ATL2 NWS DAR4* BRI MAR5 TAL22 NSV DOV2* CLT2 RSD2 MCH4 DAY5 NSV POC28 TAL37 MCH2 BRI DAR1 RCH DOV2 MAR3 NWS CLT3 CAR27 ATL2 ONT5 13th 3227 1978 RSD3 DAY34 RCH CAR1* ATL21 BRI DAR29 NWS MAR21 TAL35 DOV1 CLT5 NSV RSD27 MCH2 DAY1* NSV POC2 TAL5 MCH1 BRI DAR28 RCH DOV4 MAR25 NWS CLT5 CAR24 ATL32 ONT38 16th 2756 1979 RSD2 DAY37 CAR23 RCH ATL18 NWS BRI DAR22 MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC 32nd 1203 Osterlund Racing 2 Olds TAL2 Chevy MCH4 BRI7 DAR1 RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL ONT 1980 Ellington Racing 1 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR1* NWS MAR CLT6 TWS RSD MCH25 DAR2 RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT38 CAR 37th 1004 Olds TAL3 NSV DOV DAY2 NSV POC TAL17 MCH BRI ATL31 ONT 1981 Halpern Enterprises 16 Chevy RSD DAY29 RCH CAR30 ATL32 BRI NWS DAR8 MAR TAL NSV 70th Kennie Childers Racing 12 Olds DOV25 CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI Ellington Racing 01 Buick DAR8 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 CLT21 POC RSD MCH36 DAY5 NSV POC TAL MCH31 BRI DAR37 RCH DOV NWS CLT3 MAR CAR ATL RSD 37th 613 1983 16 Chevy DAY8 RCH CAR ATL DAR22 NWS MAR TAL31 NSV DOV BRI CLT39 RSD POC MCH35 DAY3 NSV POC TAL25 MCH9 BRI DAR10 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT39 CAR ATL RSD 33rd 943 1984 DAY9 RCH32 CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR37 MAR TAL32 NSV DOV CLT9 RSD MCH9 DAY17 NSV POC TAL MCH39 BRI DAR41 RCH DOV MAR CLT38 NWS CAR ATL25 RSD 41st 812 Junior Johnson & Associates 12 Chevy POCQL† 1985 Ellington Racing 21 Chevy DAY28 RCH CAR ATL29 BRI DAR28 NWS MAR TAL36 DOV CLT27 RSD POC MCH17 DAY10 POC35 36th 879 Pearson Racing Ford TAL35 MCH39 BRI DAR40 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT37 CAR ATL RSD 1986 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT36 RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH10 BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 82nd 134† – Qualified for Neil Bonnett

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 Pts Ref 1982 Pearson Racing 21 Pontiac DAY RCH BRI2* MAR DAR3 HCY SBO CRW RCH LGY DOV5 HCY CLT ASH HCY SBO CAR1 CRW SBO HCY LGY IRP19 BRI HCY RCH MAR CLT HCY MAR 35th 776 1983 Ford DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR NWS SBO GPS LGY DOV12 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

(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 RSD9 RSD2 RSD4 DAY4 4th $14,600 1974–75 Chevy MCH3 RSD4 RSD11 DAY5 6th $16,500 1975–76 MCH1 RSD10 RSD8 DAY4 5th $21,000 1976–77 MCH10 RSD2 RSD11 DAY6 9th $10,500 1978–79 MCH5 MCH RSD RSD ATL NA

Pearson's wife Helen Ruth Pearson predeceased him in 1991. He had three sons, Larry Pearson, Ricky Pearson, and Eddie Pearson. 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.