As a driver for some of the most competitive and historic race teams to ever field cars in NASCAR including Cotton Owens, Holman Moody and The Wood Brothers, David Pearson was soft spoken competitor with a heavy right foot. His silky smooth and deceptively fast driving style earned him the nickname “the Silver Fox.” With 105 career wins Pearson is secondly only to the King, Richard Petty.

A resident of Spartanburg, SC Pearson earned three NASCAR Cup Series Championships beginning in 1966 and followed that up with back-to-back championships in 1968- 69. His most famous wins came during the now infamous last lap of the 1976 Daytona 500. As he and fellow champion Richard Petty battled for the win the two touched coming out of turn four on the final lap, spinning and crashing with both eventually coming to rest in the infield. Although his car was heavily damaged Pearson was able to get his #21 restarted and limped across the finish line ahead of Petty, whose car had stalled. That race is regarded by many as the most exciting finish in NASCAR history.