-
Home
- TV Shows
- TV Schedule
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
CUP: Pearson, Lee Petty Built Strong Resumes
Voters will choose five men from a list of 25 nominees to become the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame...
David Pearson won 105 races in NASCAR's top division. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
The Pearson and Petty names will be big ones as long as there is stock car racing.
One Petty – the King, Richard – already resides in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. There could be a second this year, as Lee Petty, Richard’s father and the patriarch of Petty Enterprises, is considered among the favorites on the list of 25 nominees for the hall’s second class of five.
Pearson probably is THE favorite in this year’s nominee group. Second only to Richard Petty (200) in career victories with 105, Pearson was one of the sport’s superstars in the 1960s and 1970s and is regarded by many as the best driver in the history of NASCAR.
SPEED.com is taking a look at 10 of the candidates who are likely to receive the most voting attention Wednesday when a selection panel meets to choose the second class. Today’s focus is on Pearson and Parks. SPEED’s live television coverage of the hall selection process will begin Wednesday at 3 p.m.
DAVID PEARSON – Pearson was known as the Silver Fox, both for his prematurely gray hair and for his ability to conserve his equipment until the closing laps of races, when he would suddenly appear near the front to contend.
That ability made Pearson a major challenger for Richard Petty, the other superstar of his era. Pearson and Petty finished one-two in 63 races, and Pearson ended his career with a 33-30 lead over Petty in that category.
Pearson’s landmark victory occurred in the 1976 Daytona 500. He and Petty were in their peak years during that stretch, and they ran bumper to bumper over the closing laps of that 500. Pearson led coming out of the fourth turn on the last lap. Petty, challenging, bumped Pearson, sending both cars into the wall and into spins.
Pearson, showing the quick intelligence that marked his career, depressed the clutch on his car as it slid onto the apron, keeping the engine fired. As Petty struggled to return to the track, Pearson’s car chugged across the finish line at about 30 miles per hour to win the race.
Pearson won three Cup championships and probably could have won more, but he raced only in select events for much of his career.
He won almost 20 percent of his Cup starts.
LEE PETTY – Petty started a small racing operation in a reaper shed on his farm in central North Carolina and turned it into Petty Enterprises, for decades one of the strongest teams in motorsports.
Petty Enterprises provided a home base for Lee, the team’s first driver, his sons Richard (driver) and Maurice (engine builder), Petty cousin Dale Inman (crew chief) and dozens of some of the most talented mechanics in the sport.
Of the many drivers who would carry Petty team colors over the years, Lee Petty was among the best. He won 54 times, a series record until another Petty – Richard – surpassed it.
Lee won three Cup championships – the first driver to do so.
Drivers of Petty’s era remember him as one of the toughest on the track – and sometimes off it. Confrontations between the excitable Petty and other drivers were frequent, and his challenges didn’t stop outside the family. A race win apparently claimed by Richard changed hands when his father protested the finish and moved into first place.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
One Petty – the King, Richard – already resides in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. There could be a second this year, as Lee Petty, Richard’s father and the patriarch of Petty Enterprises, is considered among the favorites on the list of 25 nominees for the hall’s second class of five.
Pearson probably is THE favorite in this year’s nominee group. Second only to Richard Petty (200) in career victories with 105, Pearson was one of the sport’s superstars in the 1960s and 1970s and is regarded by many as the best driver in the history of NASCAR.
SPEED.com is taking a look at 10 of the candidates who are likely to receive the most voting attention Wednesday when a selection panel meets to choose the second class. Today’s focus is on Pearson and Parks. SPEED’s live television coverage of the hall selection process will begin Wednesday at 3 p.m.
DAVID PEARSON – Pearson was known as the Silver Fox, both for his prematurely gray hair and for his ability to conserve his equipment until the closing laps of races, when he would suddenly appear near the front to contend.
That ability made Pearson a major challenger for Richard Petty, the other superstar of his era. Pearson and Petty finished one-two in 63 races, and Pearson ended his career with a 33-30 lead over Petty in that category.
Pearson’s landmark victory occurred in the 1976 Daytona 500. He and Petty were in their peak years during that stretch, and they ran bumper to bumper over the closing laps of that 500. Pearson led coming out of the fourth turn on the last lap. Petty, challenging, bumped Pearson, sending both cars into the wall and into spins.
Pearson, showing the quick intelligence that marked his career, depressed the clutch on his car as it slid onto the apron, keeping the engine fired. As Petty struggled to return to the track, Pearson’s car chugged across the finish line at about 30 miles per hour to win the race.
Pearson won three Cup championships and probably could have won more, but he raced only in select events for much of his career.
He won almost 20 percent of his Cup starts.
LEE PETTY – Petty started a small racing operation in a reaper shed on his farm in central North Carolina and turned it into Petty Enterprises, for decades one of the strongest teams in motorsports.
Petty Enterprises provided a home base for Lee, the team’s first driver, his sons Richard (driver) and Maurice (engine builder), Petty cousin Dale Inman (crew chief) and dozens of some of the most talented mechanics in the sport.
Of the many drivers who would carry Petty team colors over the years, Lee Petty was among the best. He won 54 times, a series record until another Petty – Richard – surpassed it.
Lee won three Cup championships – the first driver to do so.
Drivers of Petty’s era remember him as one of the toughest on the track – and sometimes off it. Confrontations between the excitable Petty and other drivers were frequent, and his challenges didn’t stop outside the family. A race win apparently claimed by Richard changed hands when his father protested the finish and moved into first place.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
Ricky vs. Danica: All-Star Race - Who's On Top This Week? »
-
Feud of the Week: Joe Gibbs Racing vs. the Sprint All-Star Race »
-
Race Day Blog: Sights and Sounds From the Sprint All-Star Race »
-
Daryl Wright Breaks It Down With Pit Road Rapper Kenyatta Houston »
-
Daryl ' Vodkatime ' Wright Takes To Charlotte Motor Speedway »
-
Brad Keselowski's All-Star Car Features Awkward Kyle Busch Photo »
-
Kyle Busch Kicks Off All-Star Weekend With Trucks Win »
-
Dale Earnhardt Sr., Father of the All-Star Paint Scheme »
Kansas Speedway
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
CUP: More All-Star Frustration For JGR
Matt Kenseth had a disappointing Sprint All-Star Race finish…… -
CUP: Bono Works Through Pain
Kevin “Bono” Manion has fought gout for a decade…… -
CUP: All-Star Power Rankings
Jimmie Johnson moves back to the top of the FOXSports.com/SPEED.com… -
CUP: Johnson Destroys Another Format
For a record fourth time, Jimmie Johnson rolls home first in Sprint… -
CUP: Busches Falter In Final Shootout
Kyle, Kurt Busch lose top spots on pit road prior to 10-lap finale…… -
CUP: Johnson Sets Record With All-Star Win
Jimmie Johnson is now the only four-time winner of the Sprint All-Star… -
CUP: Saturday Charlotte Notebook (UPDATE 14)
Jimmie Johnson wins the the All-Star Race... - More News
