Watch: 50 Years Earlier, Cale Yarborough Shoved David “Silver Fox” Pearson for the Darlington Win

The Darlington Raceway plays host to the first Playoff race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup season. Often called the Track Too Tough to Tame, it has witnessed a number of thrilling races and heart-stopping finishes. From crashes to hard racing between rivals, over the decades, spectators have seen NASCAR legends conquering every other track but Darlington. One such hard-fought battle took place in 1973, which, even after half-a-century, is fresh in the minds of old-timers.

During the 1973 Southern 500, there was a titanic battle going on between Cale Yarborough and David Pearson. When the race kicked off, the #21 car of Pearson was in pole position. The Silver Fox, as he was known for his calculated approach to racing, was ahead of Bobby Allison and Richard Petty. Meanwhile, Yarborough started not too far behind in 8th place. Only Allison, Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Buddy Baker, Charlie Glotzbach, and Benny Parsons stood between them.

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How did Cale Yarborough snatch the lead and subsequent race win?

Sometime during the race, Pearson was still leading, but Yarborough had worked his way up the order. So it wasn’t long before he began to close in on the Silver Fox for the race lead. The #11 driver snuck down the inside of the #21 car and tapped his left rear fender. This resulted in Pearson getting a little out of shape and wrestling his car back under control.

The good news was that he did not wreck, but used the outside wall to regain control of his car. However, the bad news was that the loss of momentum resulted in Cale Yarborough sneaking down the inside and taking the lead. Of course, the Silver Fox was not about to give up his position without a fight, so he tried to come back for him. The intensity was aptly highlighted by the commentator, who said, “If [Pearson] was any closer, he would be in Yarborough’s back seat.”

Unfortunately, he could not get past, and  Yarborough kept the lead for the rest of the race.

How did the rest of the Cup Series season turn out?

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That year, it was Benny Parsons who triumphed in the Cup Series championship. This was his one and only Cup Series title in his entire NASCAR career. Meanwhile, Pearson clinched three NASCAR Grand National championships in his career. The same can be said for Cale Yarborough, who is also a 3-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion.

In a way, it was fortunate that David Pearson had good reflexes. Otherwise, he would have wrecked and been another victim of the dreaded Darlington Raceway. On the bright side, he did finish 2nd in the Southern 500, so he managed to salvage something from this race after the dump and run.

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