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NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson dies at 83

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer
David Pearson (R) was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013. (Getty)
David Pearson (R) was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013. (Getty)

Three-time NASCAR champion David Pearson died Monday. He was 83.

Pearson’s 105 Cup Series wins rank second to only Richard Petty among NASCAR drivers. Pearson was known as Petty’s greatest challenger in the 1960s and 1970s and won those 105 races in just 574 Cup Series starts.

Perhaps more remarkably, Pearson’s three championships came in just four near-attempts at a full NASCAR season. Pearson won the championships in 1966, 1968 and 1969. He drove in 42 in the 49 races of the 1966 season and won 15 of them. He had 16 wins in 1968 when he competed in 48 of the season’s 49 races.

Pearson drove in 18 of the 28 Cup Series races in 1973. He won 11 and finished in the top five 14 times. He was 13th in the points standings even though he didn’t compete in 10 races. It’s a safe bet that Pearson would be more than a three-time champion had he competed full-time for more seasons. He finished third to Petty and Cale Yarborough in the 1974 points standings and only competed in 19 of 30 races.

Pearson is undoubtedly a NASCAR legend. But he’s not typically included in casual conversations surrounding the best NASCAR driver in history. Those debates typically center around Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson because they each have seven championships.

While Pearson is four short of them, his win rate is incredible. He won in over 18 percent of his starts. Petty’s win percentage is just shy of 17 percent and Earnhardt’s win rate is over 11 percent. Jeff Gordon, third among all drivers with 93 Cup Series wins, has a similar win percentage to Earnhardt.

Known as the “Silver Fox,” Pearson was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013. He was a part of the second NASCAR Hall of Fame class, missing out behind inaugural inductees Petty, Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., and Junior Johnson.

Pearson won his championships with Holman-Moody Racing and ran for the Wood Brothers from 1972-1978. He scored 43 wins in the iconic No. 21 car.

As news of Pearson’s death spread via social media, NASCAR personalities chimed in on his impact in the series.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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