In 1962, Pearson drove a Ray...
In 1962, Pearson drove a Ray Fox-prepped '62 Catalina equipped with a 421 SD/405hp engine, a four-barrel carb, and a four-speed manual trans. Pearson also drove for Cotton Owens later in the season.
HPP: How did you come up with the money to buy your first NASCAR race car from Smith?
DP: I worked at a service station, and a motorcycle policeman named Ralph Sawyer said to me, "Why don't we start a fan club for you and raise money like we did for Cotton. We'll get enough money to buy Jack's car." He rode his motorcycle all day long, and started bringing me dollars and change-whatever he could get from people. I couldn't give the money back because I didn't know where he got it and that forced me to go buy that car. I didn't get nearly enough to buy it, of course, so I got the rest of the money from my dad.
HPP: When did racers in Spartanburg start talking about how Pontiacs had taken over NASCAR?
DP: Cotton Owens was the first to start talking about how good a race car the Pontiac was. The people in Spartanburg raised money for him, and he bought a '58 Pontiac that he ran at Daytona. That's the first time I heard about a Pontiac winning in NASCAR.
HPP: Was Cotton Owens someone you looked up to?
DP: I'd say so. I'd always go over to his place and do the same thing: look around and see what I could find out about cars. He was really nice. In fact, we're really close friends now.
HPP: Did either Smith or Owens offer you a position on their teams when you expressed an interest in becoming a driver in the NASCAR Grand Nationals?
DP: Cotton did, and we won the NASCAR championship together in 1966. But Bud Moore was the one who talked to Ray Fox when Ray came to Charlotte in 1961 and didn't have a driver for his Pontiac. Of course, Ray didn't know me and I didn't really know Ray. Bud says he told Ray to give me a chance because I had won a bunch of races around here on dirt tracks.
HPP: Do you remember the first time you met Ray Fox?
DP: He called me and asked me if I wanted to drive his Pontiac and I said, "Yes." I threw everything down and took off for Charlotte. That was the first time I met him.
Race-car builder Ray Fox in...
Race-car builder Ray Fox in the driver seat of the re-creation of the '61 Pontiac Catalina-built by Fox and his crew mechanic, Olin Hope-that won the '61 Charlotte World 500, Firecracker 250, and Atlanta Dixie 400-all with Pearson as the driver.
HPP: What did you recall the first time behind the wheel of the Ray Fox No. 3 Pontiac Catalina at the Charlotte World 600?
DP: I went out and practiced, and I came in and Ray asked me how it felt. I said, "Ray, I don't know. How are you supposed to feel? I've never run this fast before in my life." I had always run in the short dirt tracks.
HPP: What do you remember of the Charlotte World 600?
DP: I started third and I took the lead the first lap. I led about three-quarters of that race-about 400 miles they said.
HPP: How was the Pontiac built?
DP: It was a Catalina two-door coupe. It had a 389ci, a four-barrel carb, and a four-speed on the floor. It felt good, and it drove good.
HPP: The Charlotte World 600 had an unusual ending. Do you remember what it was?
DP: Of course I do. I had a bunch of flats that day. I don't know exactly how many, but I was running over stuff and blowing tires. In fact, I won the race on three tires. The last two laps I ran on a flat tire and sparks were flying everywhere when I crossed the finish line, from what I was told.
HPP: You were a second-year driver at the Charlotte 600. Did the starting line scare you?
DP: No way. We lined up ready to go and I looked at that Pontiac and said, "This car doesn't know if Fireball's driving it, or Joe Weatherly, or Jack Smith, or Cotton Owens. It doesn't know who's driving it. If they can do it, I can do it."
HPP: How did your win at Charlotte change your life?
DP: It fixed me right up. Right after that, Ray Fox asked me if I wanted to go to Daytona and run there. So I went down there and ran the Firecracker 250, and won the race. And then I went to Atlanta and won the Atlanta Dixie 400-all in the Ray Fox Pontiac No. 3 Catalina. Nobody had ever won three big races in one year. I was the first one to do that.
HPP: After winning the World 600, did Pontiac become your street car, too?
DP: It sure did. I won the pace car, a new '61 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, for winning the race. I took it as part of my purse.