NASCAR: David Pearson passes away at age 83

NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson, the second winningest driver in Cup Series history, passed away on Monday, November 12 at the age of 83.

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion David Pearson, who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011, passed away on Monday, November 12 at the age of 83.

Pearson, who was born on Saturday, December 22, 1934, drove in every season except the 1987 season and the 1988 season from the 1960 season through the 1989 season.

Wood Brothers Racing, the team for which Pearson drove the iconic #21 Mercury from the 1973 season through the 1979 season, confirmed on Twitter that NASCAR’s “Silver Fox” had passed away Monday.

At stated above, Pearson’s NASCAR career began in the 1960 season. He competed in 22 of the season’s 44 races and secured three top five finishes, seven top 10 finishes and one pole position that season.

But the best was yet to come for the Spartanburg, South Carolina native.

Pearson never ended up competing in every single race of a Cup Series (Grand National Series from 1960 to 1971, Winston Cup Series from 1972 until after Pearson retired) season. In fact, he competed in the Cup Series for 28 seasons, but in only 12 of those 28 seasons did he compete in more than half of the season’s races.

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However, he still managed to record 105 victories, a total that ranks second on the all-time Cup Series wins list. Only Richard Petty won more races than Pearson. Petty won 200 races over the course of his career, although he competed in more than twice as many races as Pearson did (1,184).

Over the course of his Cup Series career, Pearson also recorded 113 pole positions, a total that ranks second on the all-time Cup Series pole positions list. Only Petty started more races from the pole position than Pearson. Petty started 123 races from the pole position over the course of his career.

Pearson became a three-time Cup Series champion by winning the championships in the 1966 season, the 1968 season and the 1969 season. He notably won the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in 1976, the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 1976, 1977 and 1979, the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1961, 1974 and 1976, and the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in 1972, 1973 and 1974.

Pearson recorded a career-high 16 victories in the 1968 season and 15 victories in the 1966 season. These are the only two seasons in Cup Series history during which a driver not named Richard Petty won more than half the number of races that Petty won during his record-setting 27-win 1967 season.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends, family and fans of David Pearson as they mourn his passing. His legacy as one of the greatest drivers if not the greatest driver in NASCAR history will undoubtedly live on forever.