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We Remember BPby Mike Irwin ~ January 16th, 2007. Filed under: Mike's Musings. |
My wife and I had the rare priviledge to actually meet Benny Parsons in person, not once, but twice.
The first was at the Kentucky Speedway a few years back, when Benny had been selected as the grand marshall of an ARCA race. I do not remember which year it was, and I would have to go through my photos at home to make sure.
Anyway, my wife and I had press passes courtesy of the speedway, and we first saw Benny in the front row at the ARCA chapel service which was put on by Focus Motorsports Ministries.
After the service, we introduced ourselves to Benny, both of us just absolutely in awe of being able to meet him in person. He was very kind and gracious, as his manner always seemed to be, and signed our press passes when we asked. He took a moment to chat with us, then excused himself to go to the press box.
We just couldn’t believe we had actually met Benny Parsons!
A year or so later, courtesy of ARCA, we attended the media announcements for the 2003 season. Benny was there as a former ARCA champion (he won the 1968 and 1969 ARCA championships, and won a total of 16 races over a career there that spanned those two years).
We saw Benny walking across to the Northern Kentucky Convention Center from the hotel, and introduced ourselves again. Surprisingly, Benny remembered meeting us at the Kentucky Speedway. We had a moment to chat with him about racing in general and the ARCA series in particular, and he was just as kind and gracious to us as the first time we met him.
His calm demeanor hid a very competitive spirit, as can be seen by checking his race history. The ARCA site has a great quote by Benny about his experiences in their series:
“Yes, I had some success in NASCAR but my fondest memories are of Wayne Bennett, Dick Gold, Odie Skeen, John Thornton, Earl Stephens, Tim McHugh - Lord the lists could go on forever - but I must give a special thanks to Jack Bowsher for his help and guidance. And to my guys who ran up and down I-75 every weekend throughout the summers - Ralph Young, Bryan Phillips, Wayne King, Lenny Mack and Bobby Crittendon. I think if we could turn back the clock and calendar about 35 years, we could still give Frank Kimmel a run for the ARCA championship.”
Not only was Benny a two-time ARCA champion, but he won 21 NASCAR Cup races and 20 poles in 526 races in a career highlighted by his 1973 championship and victories in the 1975 Daytona 500 and the 1980 Coca-Cola 600. All this talent was in a man who started out as a taxi driver in Detroit, Michigan.
Here’s a couple of article links about Benny that you might enjoy:
- Parsons was a racer who often lent a hand to younger drivers
- Former NASCAR champion Benny Parsons dies
- Benny Parsons, 1941 - 2007 (NASCAR)
- Sad news… Benny Parsons has passed away!
Benny Parsons was a true gentleman in every sense of the word, and he will be missed very much.
Feel free to leave your own remembrances and anecdotes about Benny Parsons in the comments section below.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:24 am
I too, was fortunate enough to meet Benny @ Atlanta Motor Speedway a few years back (in the early 90’s) when he first started with the ESPN gig. Benny was the kind, gentle giant, of which everyone speaks. We talked for 10 - 15 minutes about racing and life in general.
Benny, I thank you for those 15 minutes.
God bless you Benny; we ALL will miss you greatly!
January 17th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Will miss his smile and the way he talked about Nascar. He sure
knew what was on the minds of the drivers.
Rest In Peace Benny—-We Love You !!!!!