By Mark Aumann, Turner Sports Interactive
January 20, 2003
9:23 AM EST (1423 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Considering the condition of his and Richard Petty's cars at the completion of 500 miles, David Pearson didn't win the 18th annual Daytona 500 as much as he survived a demolition derby.
Call it a technical knockout in favor of Pearson.
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| David Pearson Credit: Daytona Racing Archives |
In a finish still talked about as perhaps the most amazing in motorsports, running side-by-side at full throttle in of the final corner, Pearson and Petty slammed into each other and the wall, resulting in major damage to both cars as the crowd of nearly 100,000 at the track and millions on television watched in amazement.
While Petty's mangled Dodge coasted to a stop no more than 25 yards from the finish line, Pearson was able to restart his battered Mercury and coax it across the infield grass to the finish line and around the track for a victory lap at a speed more suited for a school zone.
"What it came down to was whichever one of us could get his car started first," Petty said. "Pearson won because he got his car cranked again. I never could get my car cranked."
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Once other challengers -- Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison and A.J. Foyt -- retired with engine problems, the race came down to a two-car battle between the two champions of the sport.
Pearson led 10 straight laps before Petty nosed his car in front on lap 188. Pearson then drafted past Petty for the lead on the final lap, only to have Petty dive to the inside heading into Turn 3.
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| Pearson and Petty tangle in the 1976 Daytona 500. Credit: Daytona Racing Archives |
For an instant, Petty regained the lead. But his car immediately shot to the right, pinning Pearson's car against the wall. As Pearson's No. 21 swapped ends, slammed hard into the barrier and spun like a top into the infield grass, Petty appeared to regain control for only a moment before the No. 43 made a 90-degree turn head-first into the wall.
"My car was going straight down the track, with the brakes locked," Petty said. "Then I overcorrected, and that's what threw me into the wall. It turned out my car was going straight and the driver didn't realize it and made the mistake of continuing to try to drive."
The Dodge spun back around, facing the finish line. But in his efforts to regain control, Petty had stalled the motor.
"I didn't do anything to keep it from stalling," Petty said. "Once my car got sideways, I just locked the brakes. By that time, I didn't gave a damn if I ever got to the finish line."
| 1976 Daytona 500 Top 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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The Silver Fox, however, had the presence of mind to push in the clutch during his wild ride.
"My engine never died because before I hit the wall, I popped the clutch," Pearson said. "I revved the engine as high as I could to keep it from stalling."
In the smoke and dust, Pearson frantically radioed his crew to find out if Petty had crossed the finish line.
"When they said no, I took off," he said.
As Pearson's car slowly rolled past on its way to victory, Petty's crew ran out to give their driver a push start.
By the time Pearson's car had completed its final trip around the speedway, some members of the No. 43 team, including Richard's brother, Maurice, were back on pit road to "welcome" Pearson, leaning in the driver's window to angrily converse with the winner.
"I don't think Maurice was mad at me," Pearson said. "I think he was just trying to ask me what happened. But another member of the Petty crew said some nasty words.
"I didn't have time to be angry. If he had beat me across the line, I might have been."
Petty himself had few harsh words for Pearson. Instead he went up to the winner and apologized.
"I just flat lost it," Petty said at first. "My right rear hit his left front. If there's anybody to be mad at, it's myself.
"I broke loose and slid into him. I had him pinched in against the wall. When David bounced off the wall, he caught my rear end and got me sideways. That's why I apologized to David after the race."
However, Petty changed his tune slightly after seeing television replays of the crash.
"I was in front of him," Petty said. "Then as we came off the corner, he hit my right rear. I was apologizing for what happened when I passed him in the middle of the corner, not for what caused the crash."
Defending race winner Benny Parsons finished a distant third, nursing a car running on seven cylinders.
Two weeks before, Petty left a North Carolina hospital after treatment for an ulcer.
"Now I've got two of them," he said, smiling.
This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.
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