NASCAR: Top 10 drivers of all-time

#2 – David Pearson

Over the course of a 28-year career driving on NASCAR’s top level, not once did David Pearson drive for a full season, as he missed at least one race in each and every one of those 28 seasons. In fact, over that 28-year span, he drove in just 574 races. But that didn’t stop him from ending up in 2nd place on the all-time wins list.

In those 574 races, Pearson was victorious 105 times, a total that is good for 2nd on the all-time wins list, as referenced above. That total is the only total that is more than half of the total of the driver who ranks 1st on the all-time wins list.

Also despite never driving a full season, Pearson ended up winning three championships, and he won all three of those titles in a four-year span. He is the highest ranked of the five three-time champions in these rankings. He won his three titles in 1966, 1968 and 1969, and he won his first title despite missing seven races that season. He trails just four drivers on the all-time titles list with his three championships.

The fact that he won as many as 16 races in a single season without ever driving a full season also cements Pearson’s status as one of the all-time greats. Why you may not hear his name mentioned with some of the seven-time champions, of which two were already discussed in these rankings, there is no doubt that Pearson deserves the #2 spot in these rankings.