David Pearson or Dale Earnhardt who's the Greatest sprint cup driver ever. The Finals

Pick one, the poll is set for 7 days, plenty of time to vote carefully.

  • Pearson, David 105 wins, 3 titles, 18.29 winning %

    Votes: 20 60.6%

  • Earnhardt, Dale Sr. 76 wins, 7 titles, 11.24 winning %

    Votes: 13 39.4%
  • Total voters
    33
  • Poll closed .
Greg said:
...
So it is hard to do an apples to apples comparison, there were two different objectives, agendas, or philosophies to consider.
Both of them were highly successful at meeting their own goals.


And David wasn't a one off road course type of specialist. No disrespect intended klemmabyna,
But he ran great everywhere, and wasn't restricted to only being good at certain disciplines. The "silver fox" wasn't just a catchy name. It was an accurate of description based on skills, skills they looked natural and great everywhere.
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none taken. and maybe later i will throw out some of my opinions why david might be considered better than dale. but until then i just gotta post FACTS! (that's an inside joke for long time nascar messageboard participants.:D)
 
Pearson's before my time. I never had the opportunity to watch him race live on t.v. or in person. So.... for me, gotta go with Earnhardt - by default.

I see all the stats being thrown around between the two that make great cases for each driver. But if we're talking about the greatest driver ever in terms of on track success as well as off (i.e., exposing this sport to the world we all love here, for better or worse), then I still have to vote for Dale.

It's one man's opinion. He will always be the greatest in my eyes. Maybe not so much in yours. And that's ok.
 
It's all settled now. Everyone likes Apples.

I think that no matter what criteria is used, the same 4 or 5 guys rise to the top. Petty won a lot of races and was one of the first to turn it into a profession. He was great with the fans, and that helped build the business. Earnhardt was a huge natural talent and a polorizing figure who brought lots of excitement with his win at all costs attitude. Pearson used his mind more than his bumper and won a ton of races. Jeffs impact on the sport was huge and expanded the fan base to the rest of the country while winning championships and lots of races.
 
FenderBumper said:
It's all settled now. Everyone likes Apples.

I think that no matter what criteria is used, the same 4 or 5 guys rise to the top. Petty won a lot of races and was one of the first to turn it into a profession. He was great with the fans, and that helped build the business. Earnhardt was a huge natural talent and a polorizing figure who brought lots of excitement with his win at all costs attitude. Pearson used his mind more than his bumper and won a ton of races. Jeffs impact on the sport was huge and expanded the fan base to the rest of the country while winning championships and lots of races.
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Yep , these were the big players on and off the track. They not only won races , but elevated the sport and ,as you say , increased the fan base .
 
I haven't voted, yet. :D

As noted by others, it's really hard to choose because so many did not see David race. I did, but not in his prime. With Dale, I saw his entire career.

And it's still hard to choose. :(
 
FenderBumper said:
If I had been there, nobody else would have won anything. ;)
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Very Funny

FlFlash said:
I wish the video quality was better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la52ZQBdv2w

nuff said.
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Great Race, I didn't C it live, but it lives up to every bit of they hype.

klemmabyna said:
before i crunch more numbers, can anyone tell me why pearson only ran for the title 4 times?

cause by my look at his career and wins it makes it seem like he cherry picked rides, tracks, and events. kinda like today's road course specialists.

owners wood bros. and cotton owens fielded some of the best equipment of the day. they both won with many different drivers before and after letting pearson drive for them.

now check pearson's starts. how many of those races did he win from the pole, a sure sign of top notch equipment, especially back then.

just did a quick look at pearson's 105 wins....

he started on the front row in 68 of those. (64.8%)

pearson's career average starting position was 6.2. his average finish was 11.0. he went backwards!

pearson won only 4 times in those 105 wins when starting outside the top ten:
-from 12th at fonda in 1966
-from 14th at bristol in 1967
-from 15th at daytona in 1969
-from 16th at richmond in 1968

earnhardt won 11 races from 17th or worse.

the best DRIVER?;):D;)
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Different days, Pearson ran w/guys that wanted to win, and that's what mattered back then to some guys I guess.

Topgear said:
I have held off from voting just to see some statics like these Thanks :D
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Me too, this is fun. :)

Greg said:
As I understand it David left Holman Moody because Ford pulled out, he chose not to take a pay cut. Tough times, that forced Cale to run USAC Indy cars for two years.

The Wood Brothers weren't point racers. Before Donnie Allison drove for them, AJ Foyt ran part time for them. They also ran part time afterwards with Neil Bonnet who replaced Pearson.

This does affect Pearson's average finish. If Petty broke a part and needed 25 laps behind the wall they fixed it, and ran for points. Back then attrition was more of a factor, and the Pettys in some cases could still get a top 10, in one of those marathons even with a big repair.


On the other hand when the 21 needed a long behind the wall repair that was repairable, they were done, and loaded up the trailer to go home, a bigger DNF hit.
Hence Pearson's average finish did suffer as a result.


That's a Pearson defense from me, so here is a plug for Petty. The Pettys probably had a little more fatigue or exhaustion, as every week racers. While the Woods and Pearson could focus more on the bigger money races, Petty was scrapping against the Allison's, Cale, Darrell, etc. Petty was the target to beat, so he had more battle scars or weariness to combat.


So it is hard to do an apples to apples comparison, there were two different objectives, agendas, or philosophies to consider.
Both of them were highly successful at meeting their own goals.


And David wasn't a one off road course type of specialist. No disrespect intended klemmabyna,
But he ran great everywhere, and wasn't restricted to only being good at certain disciplines. The "silver fox" wasn't just a catchy name. It was an accurate of description based on skills, skills they looked natural and great everywhere.
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Well said.

FenderBumper said:
It's all settled now. Everyone likes Apples.

I think that no matter what criteria is used, the same 4 or 5 guys rise to the top. Petty won a lot of races and was one of the first to turn it into a profession. He was great with the fans, and that helped build the business. Earnhardt was a huge natural talent and a polorizing figure who brought lots of excitement with his win at all costs attitude. Pearson used his mind more than his bumper and won a ton of races. Jeffs impact on the sport was huge and expanded the fan base to the rest of the country while winning championships and lots of races.
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Those are good apples man. It's like a culmination of excellent thoughts.

TexasRaceLady said:
I haven't voted, yet. :D

As noted by others, it's really hard to choose because so many did not see David race. I did, but not in his prime. With Dale, I saw his entire career.

And it's still hard to choose. :(
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I still can't choose.
 
Greg said:
The Pettys probably had a little more fatigue or exhaustion, as every week racers. While the Woods and Pearson could focus more on the bigger money races, Petty was scrapping against the Allison's, Cale, Darrell, etc. Petty was the target to beat, so he had more battle scars or weariness to combat.


So it is hard to do an apples to apples comparison, there were two different objectives, agendas, or philosophies to consider.
Both of them were highly successful at meeting their own goals.


And David wasn't a one off road course type of specialist. No disrespect intended klemmabyna,
But he ran great everywhere, and wasn't restricted to only being good at certain disciplines. The "silver fox" wasn't just a catchy name. It was an accurate of description based on skills, skills they looked natural and great everywhere.
Click to expand...


And remember that back in Richard's early NASCAR days, there were sometimes 3 races run in any given week. Petty had a singular mind set. Enter and try to win every damn one of them. While Pearson was not in that same position to enter and/or win as many races as Richard.

And you are right about Pearson's abilities, Greg!
 
IMO the best finish ever: the 76 Daytona 500

Immediately after the race they were saying David was just smart enough to mash the clutch, and keep the engine running while slamming and spinning way.

As a Petty fan, I was thinking “no way, nobodies that good” . But after thinking about the context, this was Pearson he probably was that smart. David was like a cat that always landed on his feet, he knew where to put the car, and always knew what to do.


Dale was brilliant too.
 
Greg said:
Immediately after the race they were saying David was just smart enough to mash the clutch, and keep the engine running while slamming and spinning way.
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S.O.P today. Pearson was doing a lot of things nobody else was. He was a master at stretching out the straights but entering high and cutting down at the apex. This gave him extra straight away to gain speed. He also saved his engine, tires and brakes for when it really counted. Running just 19 of 30 races in 1974 season, and finishing third in points was pretty amazing. I hear it was a painful back condition that kept him from running more full seasons.
 
Some personal favorite Charlotte Dale memories.


1993 Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway: Overcoming a lap and two penalties.




1987 The Winston, Charlotte Motor Speedway: The Pass in the Grass. Bill had a rocket, Dale just out muscled him. That certified him as a legend.



1992 Coca-Cola 600. A long green flag run, late in the race. Dale got in a front during a late pit cycle.


The 93 Winston All star win. Martin looked to be on his way, but Dale beat him with a controversial last restart.

People were mad as usual. I was there, and some Ford fans were beside me. I had all my Earnhardt colors on, but we had managed to be friendly, civil etc...


After the race the lady next to me, was just looking at me like I was RCR myself. She just kept saying "that ain't right". She was old enough to be my mother, and I didn't want to disrespect her. I just listened, and she agreed we could part as friends.



The The 90 Winston All star win. I worked with P&G and we got to go to Waltrips shop, dinner at the speedway club, and a Sunday morning pit tour, all expenses paid.


My friend and I wore our black, and the #3 caps. I was younger then being the oddballs was a hoot.


Dale won.
 
Never got to see Pearson race in person but saw plenty of Earnhardt. Saw his last race in person and though I was an absolute ABE fan, it hurt to see the racing world lose this guy. He was without a doubt a presence on the track. Who knows what he would have done in those days before he raced, and of course afterwards. We can compare him to anyone, but there will always be a debate. I do like listing the top 50 drivers, not necessarily in order, but it does pretty much show who were the top drivers.
 
I was also ABE , as I was anybody but Gordon and anybody but JJ ..not so much that I didn't like them , but I wanted to see all my guys win more often.Between the three of them , they have tied up a lot of wins in the last twenty or so years .I am sure gonna research a couple of those names on the top 50 list that I am not that familiar with.
 
Pearson, Pearson, Pearson!

Hoping a little subliminal advertising will help the cause...
 
robbybee said:
Pearson, Pearson, Pearson!

Hoping a little subliminal advertising will help the cause...
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I think the point of subliminal advertising is that the person doesn't know ABOUT the advertising. ;)
 
How many of y'all want to bet that we'll see a surge in the voting on the last hour that this poll is open?

I'm calling it right now, Earnhardt will win.
 
In the event of a tie, there will be only one off.

-It would consist of the top 3 drivers.

Pearson with more wins than Earnhardt would all of the tiebreaker advantages. A tie equals a win in the runoff for Pearson.


Earnhardt would be seeded, 2nd



Petty would be seeded 3rd, any ties for him equals a loss.


I hope there is no tie.
 
why is this not over it been 7 days

according to first post
 
fastfordfan said:
why is this not over it been 7 days

according to first post
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It is over, the poll automatically closed once the time frame expired

Pearson has won, I will probably do a closing wrap it thread later today.
 
Wow, I'm surprise we didn't see a surge in Earnhardt votes at the last minute.
 
FenderBumper said:
That's enough proof for me. This whole thing was a conspiracy. I'll bet Greg is actually Joe Littlejohn. ;)
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I would post a snappy comeback, but I only can only vaguely recall his name.

The conspiracy conspiracies, sometime soon I will explain why Notre Dame killed JFK. But I have to wait until the helicopters, and the computer chipped dogs leave.
 
Greg said:
I would post a snappy comeback, but I only can only vaguely recall his name.

The conspiracy conspiracies, sometime soon I will explain why Notre Dame killed JFK. But I have to wait until the helicopters, and the computer chipped dogs leave.
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If I'm remembering what I read some time back, early in his career Pearson hooked up with Littlejohn, who was a promoter.
 
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