Ever since Cain and Abel, history has been filled with great rivalries. The conflict of one who has ‘”it,” versus one who wants it.
The world of sports had had its share of great rivalries: the Yankees vs. the Dodgers, the Cowboys vs. the Redskins, and the Celtics vs. the Lakers- just to name a few. NASCAR has had a few of its own.
Dale Earnhardt had his share of challengers, be it Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott or Rusty Wallace. Ol’ D.W. not only waged war with the Intimidator, but also fought it out with the father/son combo of Bobby and Davey Allison. Richard Petty had a rather nasty feud going with the elder Allison- one of NASCAR’s original no nonsense men.
Surpassing these and others is a rivalry forged not so much out of jealousy or bitterness, as much as it was two giants immersed in a supreme struggle for supremacy, because winning is the name of the game. To this observer, the greatest NASCAR rivalry of all time was the ongoing tussle between the man they called “The King,” and the ever sly “Silver Fox.”
Richard Petty and David Pearson ran one-two an amazing 63
times throughout the course of their careers. Of those races, Pearson won 33, Petty 30. In 27 seasons, the two ran in 550 races together, with Petty finishing ahead of Pearson 289 times and Pearson finishing ahead of NASCAR’s all-time wins leader on 261 occasions.
In some ways, Pearson was the anti-Petty. Earlier in this series, we’ve recounted the deep,abiding passion the Petty family had for racing. Pearson, in a sense, was a more free-spirited sort. After he’d won the third of his three championships in 1969, the “Silver Fox” vowed he’d never again run a full schedule. The upshot of it was, Pearson had only 574 career starts in Cup, while Petty amassed 1,185.
In addition, Petty embraced his longstanding role as one of NASCAR’s goodwill ambassadors, while Pearson was a lot more reserved. What’s more, Pearson has a certain blunt honesty in his views of today’s NASCAR that might tend to make the more politically correct squirm.
In spite of their divergent personalities, the two had a great admiration for each other. Petty will tell you Pearson was the best he ever raced against, and this is a man who raced in parts of five decades against everyone from Buck Baker to Alan Kulwicki. It’s a rivalry reminiscent of the fictitious bouts between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed.
There are two events highlighting the great jousts between the legends. One was the 1974 Firecracker 400 at Daytona. Pearson held the lead on the final lap, and tried to get Petty to pass him. The King was having none of it. Finally, Pearson slowed down drastically, almost leading one to believe that Pearson lost power, ran out of gas, or something. Petty’s only options ere to run him over or pass him. Petty took the bait, passed Pearson, and then Pearson employed the slingshot maneuver to zoom past Petty to win his third July race at Daytona in a row. Fittingly, Petty broke that streak the following season.
The other defining duel between the two came in the 1976 Daytona 500. This is NASCAR’s equivalent of the fight in Rocky II. The pair was dominant once again, on this day, pulling away from the field as the laps clicked off. Petty passed Pearson with 13 to go. For another 12 laps, all a fan could do was sit on the edge of their seat, because they knew what was coming on the final lap.
On the back stretch on that last lap of the race, Pearson took that #21 Wood Bros. Merc down low and passed Petty. Pearson began to drift high, leaving an opening for Petty in his #43 Dodge. The two cars, running side by side, slapped each other. Owner Len Wood tells David Poole in NASCAR Essential, that Pearson exclaimed over the radio, “The bitch hit me!” The Mercury went nose first towards the outside wall, and caught the Dodge in the rear as both cars go into wicked spins.
Pearson darts towards pit road, asking “Where’s Richard? Where’s Richard?” over his radio. Petty himself catches the wall with the nose of his car. Announcer Bill Fleming is calling a win for Petty. He careens around and faces backward as he spins, and gets stuck in the grass. Pearson comes limping out on to the track, and takes the checkered flag running at a speed somewhere between 20 and 30 miles per hour. Petty’s crew, including son Kyle, come out and push the “43” to the finish line. Petty’s engine died during the spin, and he couldn’t restart. Pearson got his car in low gear to get his car to the checkered flag. Here’s a link to YouTube for a look at the final lap fracas (click here).
In a nine year stretch, Petty and Pearson won seven championships. The two thrilled fans with racing excellence on dirt tracks, superspeedways, road courses, short tracks- you name it, each knew they had to account for each other when they were in the same race. In those 550 events where they went head to head, Petty outraced Pearson to 107 of his 200 wins, while 97 of Pearson’s 105 wins came with Petty in the same race.
It is fitting that these two rank 1-2 in career wins, short tracks wins, and poles. Some will argue Pearson could outdrive Petty, and will also point out a disparity in the two’s equipment for much of that time. It is true that Pearson only made a real run at a championship four seasons, and he won three championships in the process.
There will never be an undisputed “greatest”- whether we’re talking Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt, or any other from a very select handful that could include Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough or Jeff Gordon. Two or three more from this generation may enter the debate.
Whatever the case, we’ve never seen two titans at their peak run against each other the way Petty and Pearson did throughout the 60s and 70s. We’re short on footage from races of their heyday, but what you can see of it makes a newer fan understand why the older fans point to this era where the giants ruled the track as NASCAR’s finest era.
The way these men battled was epic. It may be trite to say so, but there was no rivalry like it before and there hasn’t been one since. This wasn’t about fighting, it was about a quest to be the best every time you stepped into the arena of competition.
Thank God these men survived NASCAR’s bloodiest era, and they’re still here today to celebrate as the participants in NASCAR’s greatest rivalry.
PHOTO CREDITS- Petty by felicity redwell. Pearson by dalezoom. To see more, click on the links, or visit flickr.com.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
While the epic battles between Petty and Pearson took place in the 70’s, they had some good battles back when Pearson drove for Cotton Owens in the #6 Dodge and the Wood Brothers #17 Torino Talladega.
While the greatest driver of all time was decided a few years ago with Mario Andretti being selected as the absolute best, trying to pick a greatest in stock car racing is a difficult task. Had Pearson run a full schedule his entire career, he may have eclipsed The King’s record of wins and championships. Had Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison been with us longer, Iron Head may not have had his 7 championships.
If you look at percentages, Pearson topped The King. And then trying to compare the cars that each of them drove from the stock cars that Pearson and Petty started with to the stock looking cars they battled each other with in the 70’s to the used bar of soap looking cars in the late 90’s to the generic one-size-fits-all car we have today is also a difficult task. Trying to compare the 40-60 races a year that Petty and Pearson both ran to the 36 points races we have today questions who were really the Iron Men. Men driving without power steering and no cooling helmets to drivers who enjoy the ease of power steering and a helmet cooler to keep from frying their brains.
There is no easy way to compare the generations. But if you listen to Pearson, he’d have no problems coming back today and putting the current generation of drivers to shame. As a fan, that’s something I know I’d buy a ticket to see.
TWODAY IF YOU HAD THAT 43 CAR AND THAT 21 CAR
UP THERE RUNING FOR THE LEAD THE PLACE WOULD
BE SOLD OUT AND IF IT HAPPEN ALL YEAR IT WOULD
BE BEST IN 20 YEARS
JIM
In those days, us left-coasters were able to only see a portion of the races brought to us by ABC’s Wide World of Sports. The teasers, when bought to us full length by various networks, were never as grand as the spots given to us in the 60s and 70s. ‘The Good Days’ (today), will be fondly remembered in a generation, and we’ll celebrate them as much as we do that ‘NASCAR’s finest era’ is touted now.
Thanks Jim,I love reading about the Petty’s.I like probably most guys my age have a father that watched racing and thats what got us involved.I remember being a young boy in the sixties and seventies laying on the floor playing with my Hot Wheels while dad watched what races were televised back then.Me being a young boy had a hundred questions about it.Then while answering one of my many questions,Dad asked,”Who do you like?” Being so young and not knowing anything I picked the coolest looking car and it belonged to none other than the King Richard Petty.My Dad said that was a good choice and told me why.I have stuck with the Petty family ever since that day.Never got to meet Richard until his driving career was over but when I did it was just like I was that young boy again.Then a couple years later I was able to take my Dad down to meet him.That is a day I’ll never forget.
The Wood Brothers still have one of Pearson’s cars, a 1972 Merc I believe, and it’s still running. I wonder if The King still has his 1972 MoPar? Put both of them on the track against the COT and see who outperforms whom.
RUMOR CONTROL:I read somewhere ,I read alot, that Danica is getting upwards of 5 million for 13 races in ARCA and CUP events. Thats alot of scratch for rookie status….I don’t doubt it with travel expenses,jets for here to there,full-time racers require alot of handlers I guess.Anyone else hear any thing?LEONARD SPEEDRACER…..
I was 14 when they ran the first race at Bristol and my father took me. Before the race started he pointed to the blue 43 sitting in the starting lineup and said ” see that blue plymouth, that is Richard Petty. Watch him because he is going to be great.” From that day I had found the sport I loved. I did watch yhat blue 43 that day and from then on and Daddy was right. He took me and my brother to Daytona in 64 and I was fortunate to get to see Richard win his first 500. Sure he stunk up the show, leading 184 laps and lapping the field but for me at 16 it was a fantastic show and an example of the domination to come. I was at Daytona again in 66 to see his second 500 win. For about 6 years I worked for the speedway in the pits and got to not only meet Richard but spent a lot of time talking to him during practice and qualifying. He was just like a neighbor or someone you had known all your life. Over the years i was able to see manymore races and saw him reach many of his milestones. I was at Atlanta when he won and passed the million dollar nark in winnings and his dominating win of the 67 Southern 500. I attended about 175 races andwatched Nascar go from a sport to a
business. I still watch races and attend a couple and I still follow the 43 car but it ain’t thr same. I lost real interest in 1992 and don’t think it will ever come back. But I was lucky enough to see the greatest era ever in the sport, the 60’s and 70’s. Thanks, Richard, for the memories.