 Pearson's career paralleled Richard Petty's, the driver who won the most races in NASCAR history. They accounted for 63 first / second-place finishes (with the edge going to Pearson). Petty said, "Pearson could beat you on a short track, he could beat you on a superspeedway, he could beat you on a road course, he could beat you on a dirt track. It didn 't hurt as bad to lose to Pearson as it did to some of the others, because I knew how good he was."
