NASCAR Legend - Benny Parsons

By Cindy Pischel

Benny Parsons was one of the most consistent drivers in the history of NASCAR. He finished between 3rd and 5th in the final points standings from 1974 to 1980. Don Naman, Executive Director of The International Sports Hall of Fame said, "Out of 526 NASCAR events, Benny finished in the Top 10 283 times and in the Top 5 199 times, making him one of the most consistent drivers in recent history."

Parsons was a down-to-earth man from the hills of North Carolina; a happy man who loved people and made them feel special just talking with them. As a young man, he spent some time working at a gas station where he met a couple of customers towing a racecar. They invited him to a local track to watch and when the driver never showed up, Benny was elected to drive in his first race ever. That event launched a phenomenal career for him in racing.

His NASCAR career began with only one race during the '64 season. He joined the circuit full-time in 1970 and finished in the top-ten 23 times out of 45 races. He finished eighth in points. In 1973 Parsons was in contention for the NASCAR Cup Championship when he was in an early crash at Rockingham that sent him to the pits. His hopes for the Championship were fading due to the heavy damage to his racecar and he was hoping for at least a top-five finish in the standings. The guys in the garage were pulling for the "underdog" and rallied together to help Parsons' crew piece the car back together. 136 laps later, Parsons was back on the track and ended up with a 25th place finish, which was enough to take the Championship.

In 1982, Parsons became a record-holder by qualifying for the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a speed of 200.175mph. That accomplishment made him the first NASCAR driver to qualify a stock car with a speed over 200mph. In the mid-80's, Parsons decided to dabble in broadcasting along with his part-time racing schedule. This "dabbling" turned out to be quite a career and he began to do announcing and pit reporting for ESPN and TBS. The 1984 Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta was Parsons' last victory. He did however return to the track to be a substitute driver for Tim Richmond who was stricken with AIDS. Parsons retired from racing after the 1988 season and cranked up his broadcasting career with ESPN, TNT, and NBC. He is famous for his radio shows "Fast Talk with Benny Parsons" and "The CNN Radio Racing Report with Benny Parsons".

In the summer of 2006, Parsons noticed that he was having some difficulty breathing. He had stopped smoking back in the '70s but was diagnosed with lung cancer and died of complications from the treatment in early 2007. He is laid to rest in Purlear, NC at the site of his vineyard. His dream was to share the beauty of the NC mountains with his friends and fans. Today there is a racing museum and wine tasting room on the bottom floor of the home that he built at Rendezvous Mountain.

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