the Winston 500 by 0.17 seconds over Benny Parsons. Pearson began to earn the nickname of "silver fox" after the 1974 Firecracker 400. Entering the final lap, he was leading followed closely by Petty. Fearing that Petty would do a slingshot pass, he slowed a little, pulled his car off to the side to simulate a blown motor, and threw his hand up in the air as a motion of defeat. Petty quickly passed opening a lead of several car lengths exiting turn 2.Using the draft, Pearson closed in quickly down the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4 and drew right behind Petty. Coming out of the final corner, Pearson pulled to the inside and did a slingshot pass back to win the race by a car length. The International Race of Champions (IROC) invited him to participate in their first annual all-star stock car racing series for the 1973–74 season and he finished fourth of the twelve drivers. In 1975, NASCAR changed to the points system that it would use for nearly three decades until the current Chase for the Cup format was implemented in 2004. ABC televised the second half of the 1975 Daytona 500 and drew a 10.5 rating opposite an 8.6 rating for an NBA game and a 4.1 for a NHL game. Pearson took the lead back from Benny Parsons on lap 177 and began to pull away. Petty, who was 8 laps down after several unscheduled pit stops due to engine overheating, began drafting with Parsons and the duo started closing on Pearson. With less than 3 laps to go Pearson collided Cale Yarborough on the backstretch and spun out into the grass. Parsons won the race by a lap over Bobby Allison. After the race, Pearson complained that Petty showed favoritism by helping Parsons. His attempt to win his third consecutive Winston 500 fell short when he was unable to catch Baker. Despite these near-wins, he won three times in 21 attempts. He finished 14th in points in the 30–event season. He competed in the second annual IROC season during 1974/75 and he finished sixth in points. The 1976 Daytona 500 is known for the final lap battle between Pearson and Petty. In 2007, ESPN rated the race as the fourth most interesting Daytona 500. Petty was leading Pearson going into the last lap by a couple of car lengths. Pearson used