Al Pearce, a longtime auto racing reporter who covered the sport for over half a century, died Wednesday.
The Rocky Mount, North Carolina, covered every kind of motorsport while pulling double duty for the Newport News Daily Press and Autoweek for decades. Even after retiring from the Press in 2004, he continued writing for Autoweek magazine and website. While he wrote about all kinds of races and leagues, he most notably covered 56 consecutive Daytona 500s.
If there’s a significant auto-racing journalism award, Pearce has won it. He was also a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Pearce wrote 13 auto-racing books, his most recent of which was “NASCAR 75 Years,” which he co-authored in 2023 with Mike Hembree, Kelly Crandall, and Jimmy Creed.
Before working as a reporter, Pearce served as an officer in the U.S. Army.
Tributes from his peers and NASCAR luminaries poured in on Thursday as the news of Pearce’s passing spread.
Pearce is survived by his wife Francie and daughter Annie.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.