 The 1976 Daytona 500 is known for the final lap battle between Pearson and Petty. In 2007, ESPN rated the race as the fourth most interesting Daytona 500. Petty was leading Pearson going into the last lap by a couple of car lengths. Pearson used the draft to attempt a slingshot pass against Petty at the end of the back stretch on the last lap, but his car pushed high into the final turn while going around another car. Petty edged under Pearson, and their cars crashed into each other on the frontstretch in the final turns. They both spun out into the infield grass approximately 100 feet (30 meters) short of the finish line. The third place car was over a lap behind the disabled cars. With Petty unable to restart his car, Pearson slowly drove his Wood Brothers Mercury over the grassy infield past the finish line for his only Daytona 500 victory. He won a series-best ten races in 1976, but finished ninth in season points after competing in only 22 of 30 events. He won his only IROC race at the first race of IROC III in 1975 / 1976 at Michigan International Speedway and finished fifth in points.
