His 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories ranks second all-time, and he amassed that figure in only 574 races — a winning percentage of 18.29.

In a career that spanned 27 years, Pearson never once ran every single race in a given season. When he came close to running the full schedule, he won a championship — or came darn close.

In 1966, Pearson ran 42 of 49 races to win his first championship. In his 1968 championship winning campaign, he ran 48 of 49 races. And in 1969, he ran 51 of 54 en route to his third and final title. 

His consistent greatness might best be defined by his 1974 performance, a season he did not win the championship. He finished third that year behind Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough — but raced only 19 of 30 races.

Ranking second in wins and poles, Pearson’s numbers are eclipsed only by Petty. Pearson won the Daytona 500 once (1976), but had six victories overall at Daytona International Speedway.

 

 

 

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Year Age Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Rank AvSt AvFn RAF Miles LLF 1960 26 22 of 44 0 3 7 1 3885 0    14.7 15.4 12 3792.3 1 1961 27 19 of 52 3 7 8 1 3087 247    8.8 14.6 10 3466.7 3 1962 28 12 of 53 0 1 7 0 2690 280    8.2 13.7 6 3585.5 1 1963 29 41 of 55 0 13 19 2 8697 178    11.8 12.6 25 6724.8 3 1964 30 61 of 62 8 29 42 12 13225 2256    5.2 8.3 39 9152.5 11 1965 31 14 of 55 2 8 11 1 3243 576    4.1 8.7 7 1890.3 4 1966 32 42 of 49 15 26 33 7 10781 3174    5.6 6.4 34 8587.7 21 1967 33 22 of 49 2 11 13 2 5638 667    5.7 11.5 13 5985.7 5 1968 34 48 of 49 16 36 38 12 13097 3950    3.4 5.8 38 9923.2 29 1969 35 51 of 54 11 42 44 14 14270 2905    4.6 5.3 42 11710.8 29 1970 36 19 of 48 1 9 11 2 4210 580    5.8 12.8 10 5818.3 4 1971 37 17 of 48 2 8 9 2 2998 252    7.0 18.9 9 3122.2 3 1972 38 17 of 31 6 12 13 4 4902 1570    5.1 7.9 12 6622.9 7 1973 39 18 of 28 11 14 14 8 5338 2658    3.4 7.8 14 7209.0 14 1974 40 19 of 30 7 15 15 11 4630 1167    2.2 7.9 15 7757.8 15 1975 41 21 of 30 3 13 14 7 5653 1343 15 3.4 10.3 13 8591.3 9 1976 42 22 of 30 10 16 18 8 6194 1227 9 3.5 6.9 18 9060.3 14 1977 43 22 of 30 2 16 16 5 5694 868 13 5.4 9.6 16 8191.8 12 1978 44 22 of 30 4 11 11 7 5375 757 16 4.7 15.6 11 7612.7 8 1979 45 9 of 31 1 4 5 2 2271 264 32 4.8 12.9 5 3232.9 3 1980 46 9 of 31 1 4 5 1 1787 172 37 6.7 13.9 5 3254.1 4 1981 47 6 of 31 0 0 2 1 1309 48 69 8.8 22.0 2 1878.6 0 1982 48 6 of 30 0 2 2 2 1019 7 38 12.3 22.2 2 1721.0 1 1983 49 10 of 30 0 1 4 0 1643 18 33 11.4 22.1 4 3093.6 1 1984 50 11 of 30 0 0 3 1 1630 10 41 10.3 26.2 4 2974.0 1 1985 51 12 of 28 0 0 1 0 1418 2 36 9.3 30.1 2 2644.7 0 1986 52 2 of 29 0 0 1 0 337 0 82 11.0 23.0 1 605.0 0 27 years     574 105 301 366 113 135021 25176    6.9 13.8 369 148209.7 203

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During 37 seasons in NASCAR’s premier division, Moore’s cars won 63 times and finished 298 and 463 times respectively among the top five and top 10. His cars also won 43 poles in the team’s 959 starts. Moore-owned cars have visited Victory Lane in most of the sport’s biggest events including the Daytona 500 and Southern 500.

Moore’s cars, both fast and dependable, attracted the sport’s top drivers. They included Weatherly, Dale Earnhardt, Fireball Roberts, David Pearson, Billy Wade, Darel Dieringer, Bobby Isaac, Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, Ricky Rudd and Geoffrey Bodine.

As a top performer among Ford’s motorsports stable, Moore frequently was tapped to spearhead the company’s other racing endeavors. Among his successes was the 1970 Sports Car Club of America championship with Parnelli Jones.

Jarrett won his first series title in 1961 while driving a Chevrolet for W.G. Holloway Jr. He finished with only one victory, but posted an impressive 34 top-10s in 46 starts. In 1965, he won his second title while driving for DuPont heir Bondy Long, and despite a back injury sustained at Greenville, S.C., Jarrett finished with 13 wins and 42 top-fives in 54 starts that season. He also won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway by 14 laps, (17.5 miles), still the largest margin of victory in NASCAR Sprint Cup history. 

In addition to his immense success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Jarrett also captured two championships in the Sportsman Division (1957 and 1958).

Nicknamed “Gentleman Ned,” Jarrett and his wife, Martha, reside in Hickory, N.C. Their family includes son Dale, who won the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup title. Since retiring, the elder Jarrett has become one of NASCAR’s greatest ambassadors. He’s also considered instrumental to the sport’s growth through his second career as a broadcaster. Now retired from broadcasting, he is especially remembered for the emotional call of his son Dale’s 1993 Daytona 500 victory.

Jarrett was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Year Age Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn RAF Miles LLF 1953 21 2 of 37 0 0 0 0 8 0 26.0 35.0 1 10.9 0 1954 22 2 of 37 0 0 0 0 273 0    19.5 1 129.0 0 1955 23 3 of 45 0 0 0 0 403 0 31.7 30.7 1 488.4 0 1956 24 2 of 56 0 0 0 0 244 0 16.0 16.5 1 135.4 0 1957 25 1 of 53 0 0 0 0 7 0 19.0 19.0 0 3.5 0 1959 27 17 of 44 2 4 7 0 2929 2 12.9 14.0 9 1513.1 4 1960 28 40 of 44 5 20 26 5 7399 382 8.9 9.9 28 5609.7 8 1961 29 46 of 52 1 23 34 4 9813 606 8.3 7.6 35 7476.8 6 1962 30 52 of 53 6 19 35 4 11296 866 9.3 9.3 38 7435.3 8 1963 31 53 of 55 8 32 39 4 11845 1897 7.0 8.6 42 8274.7 16 1964 32 60 of 62 15 40 45 9 13325 3304 5.9 7.3 37 9023.2 19 1965 33 54 of 55 13 42 45 9 13527 2244 4.5 4.9 45 9367.5 23 1966 34 21 of 49 0 5 8 0 4584 167 11.6 16.9 8 4363.4 2 13 years    353 50 185 239 35 75653 9468 12.4 15.3 246 53830.9 86

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A charter member of the “Alabama Gang,” the longtime resident of Hueytown, Ala., has become one of NASCAR’s most beloved former competitors, in large part because of his remarkable resilience after a career-ending accident at Pocono Raceway in 1988 — just several months after he won the Daytona 500.

His string of three consecutive NASCAR premier series championships from 1976-78 was unprecedented — and unmatched until 2008, when Jimmie Johnson was crowned champion for the third straight year. Johnson won his fourth and fifth consecutive titles in 2009-10.

During his three-year dominance, Yarborough won 28 races — nine in 1976, nine in ’77 and 10 in ’78. His final championship points margin in those three years was never fewer than 195 points and was as much as 474 in 1978.

Those three years made Yarborough’s career, but he enjoyed success before and after. The fiery competitor was the series championship runner-up in 1973 and ’74 and again in 1980.

Yarborough totaled 83 victories in his 31-year career, ranks sixth all-time. His 69 poles rank fourth all-time. And he won the Daytona 500 four times (1968, ’77, ’83-84), a mark that ranks second only to Richard Petty’s seven.

When NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers list was compiled in 1998, suffice to say that William Caleb Yarborough was a shoo-in.

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Wood, of course, is best known for his collaboration with brothers Leonard and Delano in Wood Brothers Racing. The Stuart, Va.-based team, which dates to 1950 and remains active, has amassed 98 victories in 1,367 races. The team’s all-time roster of drivers is a virtual who’s who of NASCAR and includes David Pearson, Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Dan Gurney, Tiny Lund, Parnelli Jones, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, Fred Lorenzen and Bill Elliott.

The Wood Brothers have excelled outside the NASCAR world as well, winning the 1965 Indianapolis 500 with Jim Clark.

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Waltrip’s first series title came in 1981, when he finished with 12 wins and 21 top fives in 31 races. He won the title by 53 points over Bobby Allison. In his second championship season, 1982, he finished with 12 wins and 20 top 10s in 30 races, sweeping both races at four tracks (Nashville, Bristol, Talladega and North Wilkesboro). In his third championship season, 1985, Waltrip finished with three wins and 21 top 10s in 28 races.

Waltrip and his wife, Stevie, reside in Franklin, Tenn. He was nicknamed "Jaws" during his career because of an outspoken demeanor. He currently is a commentator on FOX’s NASCAR broadcasts. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

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Inman, Petty’s crew chief at Petty Enterprises for nearly three decades, set records for most wins (193) and championships (eight) by a crew chief.

Inman won seven of those championships with inaugural Hall Of Fame inductee Petty (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979), and another one in 1984 with Terry Labonte.

Credited with revolutionizing the crew chief position, Inman’s standout year was 1967. That season, Inman and Petty won a NASCAR-record 27 races — 10 of them consecutively. All 27 victories were in the same car they built a year earlier.

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In the first year of the current NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour format in 1985, Evans won 12 races, including wins in four of five events at Thompson, Conn.

Evans ranked No. 1 in the 2003 voting of the "NASCAR All-Time Modified Top 10 Drivers," and he was named one of NASCAR’s "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998.

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When NASCAR began adding superspeedways — and pit stops — Wood figured out ways to get the race car serviced in the least amount of time.

One major achievement in the team’s pit stop arsenal was the light-weight jack that replaced floor jacks weighing more than 100 pounds found in the repair shops of the day. With Wood’s choreography the team excelled like no other. Wood continued to go over the wall to change tires well into his 50s.

In 1965, Ford and Colin Chapman hired the Woods to service Jim Clark’s car in the Indianapolis 500. Another Wood innovation, an internal device allowing fuel to flow more quickly from a gravity-based fuel tank, dramatically reduced pit times and was key in Clark’s victory.

Wood’s accomplishments were not confined to pit road. He ran the team’s engine shop that provided horsepower and longevity on a par with rivals Holman-Moody and Petty Enterprises. That was instrumental to the success NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson enjoyed as Pearson won 43 races between 1972 and 1978. Racing legends Neil Bonnett, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney are among drivers winning in Wood Brothers-prepared and crewed cars.

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