1975: Pearson forced to wait until next year

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Score a big one for the little man. Even if the little man wears extra large clothing.

Good fortune smiled on good-natured Benny Parsons in the 17th annual Daytona 500, while David Pearson saw a sure win slip away when he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

With two short-track wins to his credit in 174 starts and starting 32nd in a car not supported by one of the big factory teams, Parsons was anything but a favorite to win. Even 50 laps from the end, Parsons hadn't cracked the top five.

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But on this day, Parsons proved that slow and steady -- or at least fast enough to draft with the leaders -- would win the race.

Richard Petty, who led 51 laps and had lapped everyone but Buddy Baker, began to suffer overheating problems that sent him to the pits for service. By the finish, he was eight laps down and out of contention.

"My radiator developed a little crack in it like a pinhole," Petty said. "Fast as we would put water in it, it would leak back out."

Baker then took charge for 46 laps, putting everyone but Pearson down a lap and running lap times three seconds quicker than the field. However, Baker's Daytona jinx continued when his Ford's engine expired on lap 144.

"I'm just aggravated," Baker said. "I have have been running 30 mph faster (than the field) in the corners."

1975 Daytona 500 Top 10  1. Benny Parsons  2. Bobby Allison  3. Cale Yarborough  4. David Pearson  5. Raymo Stott  6. Dave Marcis  7. Richard Petty  8. Richie Panch  9. G.C. Spencer  10. James Hylton

That put Pearson in front -- and the Silver Fox seemed destined for his first trip to Daytona's Victory Lane. He led 51 of the next 52 laps, handing the lead over to Parsons only after a pit stop.

But Pearson couldn't shake the challenge from Parsons. With the aid of a draft from Petty, Parsons' Chevrolet pulled to within a second of Pearson. Even so, it appeared there would be no way to catch Pearson's fast-moving Mercury before the checkered flag.

Then fate intervened. Two laps from the finish, Pearson found himself held up behind the lapped cars of Richie Panch and Cale Yarborough. Pearson ducked below Yarborough heading into Turn 3, then swung back up the track to draft behind Panch. He never got there.

Yarborough's car clipped Pearson, sending him spinning out of control -- and out of the lead.

And put Parsons, a former taxi driver, squarely on his way to a $40,900 payday and in a joyous mood upon reaching the press box.

"I don't really know what happened to David," Parsons said. "I know he got hung up on those two cars on the front straight and couldn't get past them.

"As to whether I could have taken David anyway, well, I would have had one of the toughest guys in NASCAR to beat. But don't forget that I had another tough guy, Petty, helping me, so there's no telling what would have happened at the end."

Petty and Pearson prove Parsons' prediction correct just one year later.

Pearson, on the other hand, had little to say to the press afterward.

"I got spun out but I'd just as soon not talk about it," said an obviously irritated Pearson. "People who were watching know who did it. They know who was over there with me."

Yarborough explained his side of the incident.

"I was behind Panch," he said. "Pearson, I guess, was going to slingshot past. I don't know whether he cut back in too soon or what, but he clipped me and spun out. I hate it happened to him."

Bobby Allison never led a lap but finished second, one lap down. Yarborough, Pearson and Ramo Stott rounded out the top five.

Note: This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.