After the Charlotte World...
After the Charlotte World 600 race, Pearson posed with two models. Not shown is the '61 Bonneville pace car convertible, which he won as part of the purse for his First Place victory.
On September 17, 1961, at the Atlanta International Raceway for the Dixie 400, Pearson raced Fox's No. 3 Pontiac Catalina for a third victorious time that year, and was the first to complete 267 laps on the 1.5-mile track, ahead of Johnson, Roberts, Jack Smith, Welborn, Woodie Smith, and Panch-all in '61 Pontiacs.
It was a phenomenal year for the rising young superstar. His Grand National prize total was $49,580, surpassing Roberts by $7,000, which put him in Second Place for the most money won in NASCAR in 1961.
In 1962, Pearson raced '62 Catalinas exclusively (421 SD/405hp cars), driving for Fox at Daytona, Darlington, Spartanburg, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Bristol; for Owens at Bristol, Darlington, and Charlotte; for Julian Petty at North Wilkesboro; and for Moore at Atlanta. Although he didn't earn any First Place finishes, he took home $15,575 for the season.
In 1963, GM forced Pontiac out of professional auto racing, and many previously loyal Pontiac race-car owners, builders, and drivers turned to Chrysler's sponsorships and its new Dodge 426 Hemi engines. Pearson had already formed a strong alliance with Owens, and the two men embarked on an amazing journey that earned them the NASCAR Grand National Championship in 1966. He went on to win the NASCAR Grand Championship two more times that decade-in 1968 and 1969, driving Fords both times.
Pearson repeated his First...
Pearson repeated his First Place victory at the Firecracker 250 on July 4, 1961. That's Fireball Roberts in Third Place in the No. 22 Pontiac, trying to catch up and Fred Lorenzen in Second Place in a Ford.
In 1971, Pontiac race-car owners Ray Nichels and Paul Goldsmith (working without "official" Pontiac support, although Pontiac Engineering backdoored the engines) teamed with sponsor Chris Vallo, and asked Pearson to pilot a '71 GTO down NASCAR's superspeedways. It was an opportunity he couldn't pass up, especially since a money dispute with Holman-Moody made Pearson open for a sponsor. He debuted the GTO and its purpose-built 366 ci Ram Air V motor at Talladega on May 16, 1971, but the Ram Air V engine couldn't keep from blowing head gaskets. He only completed 19 laps of the 188-lap Winston 500.
His second race with the GTO was on May 30, 1971, at the Charlotte 600. The GTO made only 94 laps before it succumbed to an oil leak. Pearson piloted the Pontiac for three more races: June 13, 1971, at Michigan International Speedway for the Motor State 400, where the ignition gave out after 68 of 197 laps; September 6, 1971, at Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500, where the engine failed after 50 of 367 laps; and December 12, 1971, at Texas World Speedway for the Texas 500, where the engine overheated at lap 50 of 250. The season was over. Even with Pearson's incredible talents, Nichels, Goldsmith, and Vallo were unable to return Pontiac to NASCAR's winner list.
At Daytona in 1961, Pearson...
At Daytona in 1961, Pearson poses with the Ray Fox '61 Pontiac Catalina and an unknown female. Notice the race car has already taken on battle wounds.
Pearson continued in NASCAR, winning the '76 Daytona 500 (his duel with Petty during this race is considered one of NASCAR's finest). He retired from NASCAR's Winston Cup Series in 1986, after 574 races, 135,020 laps, $2,836,220 in winnings, and 146,483.8 race miles logged on the tracks.
Today, Pearson lives in Spartanburg and rarely talks about his Pontiac days. After being introduced to him through Jack Smith's son, Lance, Pearson said he would enjoy talking to High Performance Pontiac magazine about his two-and-one-half seasons racing Pontiacs.
High Performance Pontiac: You come from Spartanburg, South Carolina-a town known for Pontiac NASCAR greats Cotton Owens, Jack Smith, and Bud Moore. How did you become involved in the NASCAR Grand National Series?
David Pearson: I bought my first NASCAR race car from Jack Smith. I met him through Bud Moore, whom I'd known about four years. I'd go over there and hang around the shop, look around, and see what I could find out about old cars, and that's where I met him.
HPP: Were they both running Pontiacs at the time?
DP: No. They started with Chevrolets. But when Jack Smith bought a '60 Pontiac to race in NASCAR, he sold me his 1-year-old '59 Chevrolet.