The "Whoa-Go" Bombshell

   It was perhaps NASCAR's biggest bombshell of the 1970s.

   And now,  even 27 years later, it remains among the most startling surprises in stock car racing history.

   "It" was the breakup between driver David Pearson and the Wood Brothers team, which together had formed one of the sport's all-time most successful combinations.

   The stunning development came during the second week of April in 1979 immediately following  Darlington (S.C.) Raceway's Rebel 500.   

   The early-morning phone call roused me from bed.  "Tom, this is Whitt Collins," said the caller, a public relations representative for Purolator, the longtime sponsor of the Pearson-Wood Brothers team.  "David  Pearson and Glen and Leonard Wood have decided to go separate ways."

   This was explosive news.  Nowadays, it would be akin to Jeff Gordon leaving Hendrick Motorsports or Dale Earnhardt Jr., departing Dale Earnhardt Inc.

   For 7 1/2 seasons Pearson and the Wood Brothers had combined to win 43 races and 51 poles in just 157 starts while running a limited schedule of mostly-major events on superspeedways.

  "Is this an April Fool's joke a week late?" I asked incredulously after recovering from initial shock that momentarily left me speechless.  Whitt assured me it wasn't.  "I'm sorry," he said, "but I just don't have many details and I can't go into it."

   The cause of the split seemed apparent.

   During the 500-miler at Darlington on April 8 Pearson and the Wood Brothers crew had erred very uncharacteristically.

   It happened during a pit stop on the 302nd of the race's 367 laps at the historic 1.366-mile track that was among Pearson's best.  As Pearson sped from the pits in an effort to beat frontrunner Darrell Waltrip out and get back on the lead lap, both left side tires flew off the No. 21 maroon and white Mercury.  The car nosed to a grinding stop between the end of pit road and the entrance to the first turn.

   The crowd estimated at 50,000 gasped in disbelief.

   What had happened!!!? 

   There had been a breakdown in communication.

   "The Wood boys were going to change four tires, but I thought we were changing only two--the right sides,"  said Pearson. 

   As Pearson revved the engine to take off, crew chief Leonard Wood shouted, "Whoa, whoa!"  Pearson thought that Leonard said, "Go, go!"

   And go he did.  For a few yards at least.

   Then the tires, with no lug nuts tightened to hold them on, rolled off the car.

   Pearson's crew sprinted down pit road, bringing a jack along to get the tires back on.  But too much damage had been done, and Pearson was out of the race.

   Just hours later he was out of the Wood Brothers' ride as well.

   "The incident at Darlington triggered it," said Pearson.  "It was just the climax of several little things.  This had been coming on."

   However, Leonard Wood offered a different assessment: "It wasn't the pit snafu.  Certain things couldn't be worked out.  You have to plan different strategy these days with at least 12 teams capable of winning."

   Pearson had become known for running conservatively until the late stages of races, then charging to victory as the laps wound down.

   Regardless of what caused the rupture, it ended a pairing whose exploits will be feted forever in NASCAR lore. 

   The split also overshadowed one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR history.

   Waltrip and Richard Petty swapped the lead four times in a hectic, thrilling final lap.  Waltrip prevailed at the finish line by half a car length.

   Long after the Rebel 500 had ended Waltrip came to the press box a second time.  Following the winner's interview, he had visited with guests and race officials in a nearby suite.  Now he came back and with a full moon rising over the old track, Waltrip looked out across the infield, spread his arms and sang, "I'll see you in my dreams..."

   David Pearson subsequently formed his own team, raced a few seasons, and  retired in 1986 with 105 victories, second alltime to Petty's 200.  The Wood Brothers Team remains active, and now is in its 53rd year of racing.

   I imagine that from time-to-time Pearson and the Wood Brothers, Glen and Leonard, who have remained friends, look back over the years and see each other in their dreams, too.

   I