David Pearson Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When looking back at all the memorable moments Darlington Raceway has produced, all of them aren’t confined to just the Southern 500. Back when the track held two events each year, the spring race produced just as many memorable moments of its own. The CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 in April 1979 was one of those events. Richard Petty, driving his famous No. 43 STP car, and Darrell Waltrip, who then drove the No. 88 Gatorade machine for DiGard Racing, staged a battle for the agesRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Glen Wood, who co-founded the Wood Brothers Racing Team in 1953, passed away Friday morning at the age of 93. The team confirmed the loss of the legendary NASCAR Hall of Famer via a statement on social media. “It’s with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of team founder and family patriarch Glen Wood this morning. We want to thank family, friends, our small-town Virginia community of Patrick County, as well as everyone in the NASCAR community for their unwavering support.” Wood started his careerRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor NASCAR and the motorsports world in general has lost a legend as David Pearson passed away Monday at the age of 83. The Spartanburg, South Carolina native, nicknamed the “Silver Fox”, first entered the sport in 1960 and though he never ran a full-time season during his time in NASCAR’s Premier Series, he still claimed 105 wins in 574 starts. Pearson is mostly associated with the Wood Brothers Racing team, who he drove for between 1972 and 1979, but he also climbed behind the wheel forRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is often overshadowed by the Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race, but there have been a few occasions when the second race date at the track provides a memorable finish. The 1972 National 500 was one of those races. David Pearson would put his Wood Brothers Mercury on the pole, with Buddy Baker joining him on the front row. In what would be the final race that the Wood Brothers entered two cars, A.J. Foyt qualified third, followedRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor This past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson busted down the door to yet another career milestone — 76-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins. That number is of course relevant in the world of NASCAR, because it now ties Johnson with the late Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time win list. As you would expect, this win immediately spawned the question, is Johnson a better driver than Earnhardt was? Johnson fans will say yes, obviously. While Earnhardt fans will say no, just asRead More

By Owen A. Kearns, NASCAR Wire Service In a different era, in which stock cars driven to and past their limits didn’t break with frequency, there’s no telling how many races or championships Bobby Isaac might have won. Isaac, the 1970 NASCAR premier series champion, won 37 of his 309 starts. But he was a DNF – did not finish – 129 times. His 49 poles rank 10th all-time, with 19 – a still-standing, single-season mark – coming in 1969. Only 38 drivers have won 19 or more poles inRead More