The Silver Fox has passed

[BADRACR1]

Any of you older folks who were NASCAR fans when they raced real cars will know who David Pearson was. He passed yesterday at 83 years old. Truly one of the greatest and never even raced a full season. In 574 starts he won 105 races, second on the all time win list. Not a bad average at all.
He gave Petty hell. The two drivers finished 1-2 in the premier series 63 times, with Pearson winning 33. A three time champion, Petty often said Pearson was the best driver he ever raced. The 1976 Daytona 500 came down to those two and on the final lap they crashed together coming out of turn four. Pearson had the sense to push the clutch in as the car spun, and then limping the crashed car across the finish line beat Petty as the 43 got mired down in the infield.
Pearson was also famous for smoking while he raced. He had a lighter installed in the dash of his cars. It was always said you knew the race was about to get serious when he flipped his cigarette out the window.
I remember seeing them in clips on the Wide World of Sports as a kid before races were carried on the networks. In my attic I have a model of the 1971 Wood's Brothers Mercury Cyclone piloted by David Pearson that I built when I was about twelve.
Godspeed, Mr.Pearson, aka the Silver Fox. You were one of the best.

[JRD77VET]

NASCAR legend David Pearson dead at 83


Pearson (r) is second to Richard Petty (l) on the all-time NASCAR wins list. (AP)

David Pearson, a NASCAR pioneer and longtime rival of Richard Petty, has died. He was 83.

Pearson died Monday, The Wood Brothers racing team said, but details were not immediately available.

Pearson was a three-time Cup champion and his 105 career victories trail only Petty's 200 on NASCAR's all-time list.

Born just outside of Spartanburg, Pearson made his NASCAR debut in 1960 and along with Petty, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough, they raced all over the country as the cornerstone during NASCAR's period of slow growth beyond a regional racing series. Pearson was inducted into the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Initially nicknamed "The Fox" for his calculated attack on the race track, the moniker evolved into "The Silver Fox" as Pearson aged. His career paralleled Petty's and the two combined for 63 finishes in which the two finished first and second to each other.

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/nascar-...son-dead-at-83

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[MrPeabody]

I do remember him.

[Black94lt1]

One of the greats, RIP