David Pearson in the No. 21 wins the 1974 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway Photo – Getty Images ISC Archives

If you’ve ever wondered about David Pearson’s nickname the ‘Silver Fox,’ just watch the end of the 1974 Firecracker 400.

Pearson, who won 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, was always fast, but it was strategy and guile that made him near impossible to beat.  And nowhere was that more clear than at Daytona International Speedway, where the key to winning was the unstoppable ‘slingshot’ move.

The 16th edition of the Fourth of July classic saw familiar names up front throughout the race – there was Pearson and ‘The King’ Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker.  As the laps ticked off, the race came down to Pearson and Petty, as races tended to do in that era.

All seemed normal as Pearson grabbed the white flag, signifying the last lap of the race.  Suddenly, coming out of the tri-oval, Pearson dropped down to the bottom of the track and Petty went speeding by into the lead.

Even the MRN announcers didn’t know what was happening, exclaiming, “whether it’s a just a maneuver on David’s part or whether he has problems, we’ll know in a minute!”

Turns out it was the former.

Pearson knew he was a sitting duck with Petty just car lengths behind him, so he ‘flipped the script.’ By allowing Petty to pass him, Pearson put himself in the right position for a race-winning slingshot move. And true to his champion form, he perfectly executed the slingshot coming out of turn four for a ‘Silver Fox’ victory by no more than ten feet.