Pearson career soars after Dieringer contract dispute

If not for a pair of twists and turns involving tires, David Pearson might have wound up as the best roofer in Spartanburg County instead of one of NASCAR's greatest drivers.

When Darel Dieringer was unable to race in the 1961 World 600 because of a dispute over his contract with a rival tire company, car builder Raymond Fox needed a replacement driver. On the recommendation of Joe Littlejohn, Fox turned to Pearson, who was then working full-time for a Spartanburg area heating and roofing company in an effort to support his family, which included young sons Larry and Ricky.

Pearson

Pearson had run 22 races and won rookie of the year honors in 1960 while driving his own Chevrolet. But despite seven top-10 finishes, he never led a lap. And even though he cashed a $1,150 check for finishing 10th in the inaugural World 600, he had little cash to continue racing. After bending the A-frame on his car in a wreck at Columblia early in 1961, Pearson thought he'd better find a real occupation, hence the roofing job.

So when Fox came calling, Pearson wondered if he was making the right decision. So did Fox, who wasn't completely sold on the untested 26-year-old until Pearson ran a few impressive practice laps in the Pontiac. But even Fox was confident in the call after Pearson qualified third-fastest in the 55-car field, starting behind Richard Petty and Joe Weatherly.

Like in 1960, the 600-miler soon became a test of strategy rather than speed. The defending race winner, Joe Lee Johnson, blew a tire and crashed on Lap 46, setting a tone for the rest of the day. Marvin Panch had tire problems right in front of Larry Frank, driving in relief of Curtis Turner, who slammed broadside into Panch. Bob Burdick had a tire let go right in front of the homestretch grandstands and slammed into the concrete wall. And Reds Kagle lost control of his car after a blown tire and his car impaled the metal guardrail in the third turn. The guardrail sliced through Kagle's left leg, amputating it below the left knee.

The race became a duel between four Pontiacs. Weatherly took the early led, only to be passed by Pearson, who in turn gave up the top spot to Ralph Earnhardt, driving for Cotton Owens. Earnhardt and Jack Smith swapped the lead for a time, with Pearson then assuming control until the first round of stops.

Rev the Vote

Make your choice for the Fan Voted-In driver for the 25th All-Star Race on May 16 at Charlotte.

• Vote now!

Then it was Ned Jarrett's turn to put Chevrolet in front as the race reached the one-quarter mark, as Earnhardt and Pearson kept pace. But as the other leaders began to fade, Pearson found a pace that allowed him to run fast laps without ruining his tires. He only used 12 tires total -- never changing the left-side rubber -- and made routine six stops.

"We set the pace at 133 [miles an hour] but Ray told me we had it a little too high and that we were blistering tires, so we cut it down some," Pearson said.

Richard Petty then provided Pearson with his greatest challenge. After the race resumed following the Kagle accident on Lap 311, Petty was second -- the only other car on the lead lap -- but closing rapidly on Pearson. Over a 10-lap span, he gobbled up six seconds of Pearson's lead, but on Lap 331, the engine in Petty's Plymouth suddenly erupted in white smoke and he coasted into the pits with a blown engine.

With Roberts more than three laps behind, Pearson appeared to be well on his way to the first Cup victory of his career. When the engine in the No. 3 began skipping near the end, Pearson kept his cool. But his emotions went from easy to excruciating in a hurry after he ran over a debris on the backstretch, causing the right-rear tire on his No. 3 to explode with a bang with little more than two miles to go.

Pearson was faced with a sudden dilemma: Should he pit and all but guarantee giving the win to Roberts, or stay out and try to baby the car around the track one more time in hopes of getting to the finish line in one piece before Roberts could make up the deficit?

In a call that would foreshadow the rest of his impressive career, the future Silver Fox never hesitated. He opted to stay out.

"I didn't know I was three laps ahead and thought maybe that blowout was going to cost me," Pearson said. "But I wasn't going to bring the car in [unless] it was on all four rims."

• Stay in the loop on the 600
• Get your tickets for all events

As the crowd of more than 46,000 roared at the sudden change of events, Roberts sped past as Pearson limped along on the track apron at 20 mph, the wheel spewing sparks as it made contact with the pavement. But as he did all day, Pearson calmly kept a consistent, if somewhat turtle-like, pace, finally reaching the finish line in time to receive a check worth $24,280 and a new Pontiac convertible pace car.

When Pearson got out of his car, he glanced at the wheel, now nearly ground to the hub, and remarked, "I almost didn't make it, did I?"

Raymond Fox Jr., assisting his dad in the pits, said Pearson made the right call: "His [other] tires were OK and he had five or six gallons of gas left, plenty."

Just to prove it was no fluke, Pearson teamed up with the Fox family at Daytona and won the Firecracker 400, then followed that with a third-place run in the Southern 500 and a win at Atlanta later in the year.

For the rest of his storied career, only his record at Darlington eclipsed his success at Charlotte. Pearson won three more times on the 1.5-quad oval, including sweeping both races in 1974. And in a stretch of races from 1972-80, Pearson started on the front row in 15 consecutive Charlotte races, including winning the pole 11 times in a row. In all, Pearson scored four wins, 18 top-five finishes, 26 top-10s and amassed more than $435,000 in winnings.

In the case of David Pearson, roofing's loss was definitely racing's gain.

GREAT MOMENTS IN CHARLOTTE HISTORY
• More: Financial gamble pays off for 'greatest driver alive'