Enduring Performance: Darlington Raceway

Pearson overcomes first-lap collision with wall to win '68 Rebel 400

By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
May 9, 2006
02:26 PM EDT (18:26 GMT)

It didn't take David Pearson long to earn his first Darlington stripe, smacking the wall hard on the first lap of the 1968 Rebel 400 while dueling with pole-sitter LeeRoy Yarbrough at the head of the field.

"I thought I'd lead the first few laps and show them what I could do," Pearson said. "Show 'em and tell 'em they couldn't relax with ol' David around.

"That visit to the wall shook me a little and told me I'd better respect this old racetrack a little."

The 1966 national champion was kind the rest of the day to the Lady in Black, and was rewarded with the first of what would be a record 10 visits to Darlington Raceway's Victory Lane.

"This does it," Pearson said. "I'm running for the national championship again. I've got the car and crew to win it again, so that's my goal now.

"I thought that if I won today, they'd let me, they've given me the go-ahead signal, and I'm pretty sure that I can go flat-out anyhow."

It was certainly a good omen for Pearson, who would go on to win a career-best 16 races that season, including four in a row, and his second NASCAR championship.

It was Pearson's first big-track victory since the 1961 Dixie 400 at Atlanta, as he led 131 of the 291 laps, beating Darel Dieringer to the finish line by 18 seconds. Richard Petty's Plymouth was the only other car on the lead lap at the end.

The win was worth $13,700 to Pearson, the second-biggest payday of his career to that point. His 1961 World 600 victory at Charlotte paid $24,280.

However, when Pearson flattened the right side of his No. 17 Ford on the first lap, there were few among the crowd of 35,000 who thought the South Carolina native would be around at the finish.

Pearson led the first 18 laps before Buddy Baker and Yarbrough swapped the lead over the next 50 circuits. From that point, several drivers found their way to the front before Pearson claimed it for good. Pearson averaged a record 132.699 mph, which has been eclipsed only nine times since then.

Another future South Carolina ace, Cale Yarborough, had a day filled with trouble. He blew two tires and spun out before engine problems finally sidelined his Wood Brothers Mercury after 222 laps.