Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, and was a 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. He was the older brother of former NASCAR driver, car owner, and broadcaster Phil Parsons of Phil Parsons Racing.

Benny Parsons
BornBenjamin Stewart Parsons
(1941-07-12)July 12, 1941
Wilkesboro, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedJanuary 16, 2007(2007-01-16) (aged 65)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of deathComplications resulting from lung cancer
Achievements1973 Winston Cup Series Champion
1968 ARCA Racing Series Champion
1969 ARCA Racing Series Champion
1975 Daytona 500 Winner
1980 World 600 Winner
1969 Daytona ARCA 300 Winner
1982 Daytona 500 Pole Sitter
Awards1965 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1994)
Court of Legends at Charlotte Motor Speedway (1994)
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2005)
ESPN Emmy (1996)
ACE Award (1989)
NASCAR Hall of Fame (2017)
Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
526 races run over 21 years
Best finish1st (1973)
First race1964 (Weaverville)
Last race1988 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
First win1971 Halifax County 100 (South Boston)
Last win1984 Coca-Cola 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles
21 283 20
NASCAR Grand National East Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Best finish33rd (1973)
First race1972 Buddy Shuman 300 (Hickory)
Last race1973 Sunoco 260 (Hickory)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
Statistics current as of October 31, 2013.

He was nicknamed "BP" and The Professor, the latter in part because of his popular remarks and relaxed demeanor.

Early life edit

Parsons was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina. He spent his childhood years in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and played football at Millers Creek High School (now known as West Wilkes High School). Following high school, he moved to Detroit, Michigan where his father operated a taxicab company. Parsons worked at a gas station and drove cabs in Detroit before beginning his racing career. While working at the gas station one day, a couple of customers towing a race car invited him to a local race track. The driver of the car never showed up for that evening's race, and Parsons drove the car in a race for the first time later that night. Benny later moved to Ellerbe, North Carolina and always called it home.[1]

Driving career edit

1960s edit

Parsons began his NASCAR career by running a single race in 1964 for Holman-Moody with a young Cale Yarborough.

Parsons won the 1968 and 1969 ARCA championships, and then moved to Ellerbe, North Carolina.[2]

Parsons had three top-10 finishes in four NASCAR races in 1969.

1970s edit

Benny joined the NASCAR circuit full-time in 1970 with crew chief John Hill. He had 23 top-10 finishes in 45 races, a pole at Langley Field Speedway, and finished eighth in the final point standings. He raced the No. 72 car for L.G. DeWitt/DeWitt Racing.

Parsons had 18 top-10 finishes in 35 starts in 1971, including his first win at South Boston Speedway. He finished eleventh in the points.

In 1972, he had 19 top-10 finishes in 31 races. He finished fifth in the final points standings.

In 1973, he won the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship with only one win, even though David Pearson won eleven races, although Pearson had only entered eighteen events. Parsons' consistency likely won him the championship: he had 21 top-10 and 15 top-5 finishes in the 28 events.

His improbable return to the track after an early crash cemented his 1973 championship at Rockingham, North Carolina. He saw his championship hopes start to fade as he was involved in a lap 13 crash and his car was heavily damaged. He took to the pits to muster whatever he could out of the car and hope for a top five finish in the final standings. The rest of the garage was hoping to see the underdog unseat the mighty Richard Petty and joined in to help Parsons' crew put the car back together. Parsons miraculously got back on the track 136 laps later and completed enough laps to finish 25th and take the 1973 championship. Richard Petty, with the championship in his sights after winning the pole and seeing Parsons' accident, had engine trouble and was relegated to a 35th-place finish. The poor performance dropped Petty all the way to fifth in the final standings, as Cale Yarborough took the runner up spot on the season with his third-place effort. Yarborough finished 67 points behind the champion.

Parsons became the only person to win both ARCA and NASCAR championships.

Parsons finished between third and fifth in the final points standings from 1974 to 1980, and won the 1975 Daytona 500. He switched to the No. 27 entry for M.C. Anderson starting in 1979.

In 1979 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Bobby Allison led most of the race, but in the final 150 laps, Darrell Waltrip caught Allison. The two hit together hard and Waltrip hit the front stretch wall. Waltrip began crowding Allison under the caution and got black flagged for the crowding. Benny Parsons would win the race, but it would be his only win at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Parsons' wife Terri, with whom he was married from 1992 until his death in 2007, became an investor in North Wilkesboro Speedway two years after his death.[3]

1980s edit

He won the 1980 World 600 at Charlotte and the Los Angeles Times 500 (the final major motor race held at Ontario Motor Speedway) and finished 3rd in points.

In 1981, he started racing in the No. 15 Bud Moore Ford Thunderbird. He had wins at Nashville Speedway USA, the final race at Texas World Speedway, and Richmond. In addition, he received his final top-ten points finish, finishing tenth that year.

Parsons qualified for the 1982 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway at 200.175 miles per hour (mph), which was the first NASCAR qualification run over 200 mph (322 km/h).

 
1983 racecar

Parsons raced in about half of the races between 1983 and 1986 for owner Johnny Hayes. Parsons' final career victory came in 1984 at the Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta.

He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.

Parsons joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1987 as a substitute driver for Tim Richmond, who was stricken with AIDS. During the first lap of a race at Darlington Raceway, Parsons hit the wall and badly damaged his race car. He was able to continue, but had to make several pit stops for repairs. At one point, his crew chief, Harry Hyde, refused to allow Parsons to pit because he and the crew were on an ice cream break. This incident was alluded to in the film, Days of Thunder. Another scene in the film was inspired by a real-life incident at Martinsville Speedway involving Parsons and the notoriously cantankerous Hyde. Hyde sarcastically told Parsons to hit the pace car on a restart because it was the only thing on the track that Parsons had not hit.[4]

Parsons drove the No. 90 Bulls Eye BBQ Ford for Junie Donlavey in his final NASCAR season in 1988 and then moved to the broadcast booth, a position that he would hold until his death.

Parsons did decide to race a few other times. The first was during the 2003 Old Dominion 500 as part of an advertising segment for "Wally's World." He then drove a ceremonial victory lap at the last fall race at Rockingham in 2003 in a 1973 Chevrolet similar to the one in which he had won a championship.[citation needed]

Parsons is also credited with discovering former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle at a "Gong Show" held in Tucson, Arizona.[citation needed]

Awards and statistics edit

Motorsports career results edit

NASCAR edit

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series edit

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 NGNC Pts Ref
1964 Holman-Moody 06 Ford CON AUG JSP SVH RSD DAY DAY DAY RCH BRI GPS BGS ATL AWS HBO PIF CLB NWS MAR SVH DAR LGY HCY SBO CLT GPS ASH ATL CON NSV CHT BIR VAL PIF DAY ODS OBS BRR ISP GLN LIN BRI NSV MBS AWS
21
DTS ONA CLB BGS STR DAR HCY RCH ODS HBO MAR SVH NWS CLT HAR AUG JAC 120th 130 [7]
1969 Russ Dawson 88 Ford MGR MGY RSD DAY
5
DAY DAY
7
CAR AUG BRI ATL CLB HCY GPS RCH NWS MAR AWS DAR BLV LGY CLT MGR SMR MCH KPT GPS NCF DAY DOV TPN TRN BLV BRI NSV SMR ATL 56th 183 [8]
18 MCH
38
SBO BGS AWS DAR HCY RCH TAL CLB MAR NWS CLT SVH AUG CAR JFC MGR TWS
3
1970 Benny Parsons 88 Ford RSD DAY DAY
7
DAY
14
8th 2993 [9]
DeWitt Racing 72 Ford RCH
15
CAR
21
SVH
4
ATL
8
BRI
27
TAL
4
NWS
28
CLB
16
DAR
5
BLV
12
LGY
5
CLT
3
SMR MAR
38
MCH
10
RSD
18
HCY
6
KPT
13
GPS
5
DAY
31
AST
25
TPN
3
TRN
7
BRI
19
SMR
13
NSV
22
ATL
8
CLB
16
ONA
23
MCH
8
TAL
35
BGS
5
SBO
4
DAR
39
HCY
15
RCH
6
DOV
5
NCF
14
NWS
6
CLT
4
MAR
9
MGR
7
CAR
33
LGY
2
1971 RSD
3
DAY DAY
5
DAY
35
RCH
3
HCY
3
BRI
5
ATL
36
CLB
2*
GPS
5
SMR
2
NWS
4
MAR
16
SBO
1
ASH
12
KPT
23
RCH
25
NWS
5
11th 2611 [10]
Mercury ONT
9
CAR
25
DAR
23
TAL
48
CLT
7
DOV
23
MCH
28
RSD
22
HOU GPS DAY BRI AST ISP TRN NSV
3
ATL
3
BGS ONA MCH
38
TAL
47
CLB HCY DAR
16
MAR
6
CLT
10
DOV
29
CAR
6
MGR
Chevy TWS
38

Winston Cup Series edit

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1972 DeWitt Racing 72 Ford RSD
40
RCH
8
CAR
7
5th 6844.15 [11]
Mercury DAY
4
ONT
14
ATL
7
BRI
21
DAR
4
NWS
5
MAR
20
TAL
10
CLT
4
DOV
6
MCH
25
RSD
2
TWS
4
DAY
36
BRI
4
TRN
8
ATL
4
TAL
25
MCH
7
NSV
4
DAR
35
RCH
23
DOV
34
MAR
6
NWS
4
CLT
38
CAR
35
TWS
6
1973 Chevy RSD
14
DAY
30
RCH
10
CAR
31
ATL
3
NWS
2
DAR
2
MAR
6
TAL
3
NSV
2
CLT
5
DOV
6
TWS
7
RSD
3
MCH
9
DAY
5
BRI
1*
ATL
25
TAL
38
NSV
19
DAR
5
RCH
4
DOV
4
NWS
5
MAR
6
CLT
4
CAR
28
1st 7173.8 [12]
Mercury BRI
5
1974 Chevy RSD
4
DAY
22
RCH
13
CAR
23
BRI
3
ATL
29
DAR
32
NWS
4
MAR
4
TAL
2
NSV
16
DOV
4
CLT
31
RSD
3
MCH
25
DAY
27
BRI
17
NSV
7
ATL
8
POC
5
TAL
5
MCH
22
DAR
26
RCH
2
DOV
4
NWS
13
MAR
15
CLT
27
CAR
9
5th 1591.5 [13]
Ford ONT
35
1975 Chevy RSD
24
DAY
1
RCH
3
CAR
22
BRI
2
ATL
28
NWS
6
DAR
6
MAR
6
TAL
43
NSV
2
DOV
23
CLT
39
RSD
3
MCH
34
DAY
8
NSV
4
POC
4
TAL
6
MCH
34
DAR
20
DOV
3
NWS
6
MAR
2
CLT
4
RCH
18
CAR
24
BRI
5
ATL
19
ONT
34
4th 3820 [14]
1976 RSD
5
DAY
3
CAR
5
RCH
9
BRI
3
ATL
2
NWS
4
DAR
3
MAR
20
TAL
26
NSV
3
DOV
1
CLT
5
RSD
3
MCH
19
DAY
7
NSV
1
POC
3
TAL
39
MCH
9
BRI
4
DAR
7
RCH
29
DOV
26
MAR
5
NWS
2
CLT
5
CAR
31
ATL
6
ONT
3
3rd 4304 [15]
1977 RSD
21
DAY
2
RCH
3
CAR
12
ATL
26
NWS
3
DAR
5
BRI
5
MAR
2
TAL
3
NSV
1
DOV
6
CLT
3
RSD
27
MCH
3
DAY
3
NSV
18
POC
1*
TAL
24
MCH
3
BRI
3
DAR
25
RCH
3
DOV
1*
MAR
2
NWS
5
CLT
1*
CAR
7
ATL
3
ONT
12
3rd 4570 [16]
1978 RSD
2
RCH
1
CAR
3
ATL
13
BRI
2*
DAR
1
NWS
3
MAR
15
DOV
4
NSV
20
RSD
1
NSV
6
POC
29
DAR
10
RCH
6
DOV
26
MAR
3
NWS
6
CAR
4
ONT
8
4th 4350 [17]
Olds DAY
3
TAL
31
CLT
6
MCH
3
DAY
26
TAL
3
MCH
13
BRI
2
CLT
28
ATL
5
1979 M.C. Anderson Racing 27 Chevy RSD
26
CAR
10
RCH
4
ATL
5
NWS
3
DAR
4
MAR
19
NSV
7
DOV
7
CLT
5
TWS
25
RSD
5
MCH
31
NSV
4
POC
4
MCH
3
BRI
4*
DAR
5
RCH
8
DOV
22
MAR
27
CLT
6
NWS
1
CAR
2*
ATL
31
ONT
1*
5th 4256 [18]
Olds DAY
18
BRI
5
TAL
35
DAY
2
TAL
21
1980 Chevy RSD
33
RCH
28
CAR
21
ATL
30
BRI
4
DAR
2
NWS
5
MAR
2
NSV
2
DOV
22
CLT
1
TWS
23
RSD
3
MCH
1*
NSV
3*
POC
20
MCH
8
BRI
5
DAR
4
RCH
10
DOV
5
NWS
6
MAR
4
CLT
33
CAR
23
ATL
32
ONT
1
3rd 4278 [19]
Olds DAY
5
TAL
8
DAY
6
TAL
4
1981 Bud Moore Engineering 15 Ford RSD
16
DAY
31
RCH
5
CAR
24
ATL
5
BRI
5
NWS
21
DAR
5
MAR
23
TAL
36
NSV
1
DOV
32
CLT
37
TWS
1
RSD
20
MCH
3
DAY
39
NSV
3
POC
3
TAL
13
MCH
26
BRI
6
DAR
39
RCH
1
DOV
34
MAR
24
NWS
29
CLT
38
CAR
6
ATL
36
RSD
27
10th 3449 [20]
1982 Ranier-Lundy Racing 28 Pontiac DAY
26
RCH
3*
BRI
9
ATL
4
CAR
3
DAR
4
NWS
4
MAR
29
TAL
3*
NSV
22
DOV
20
CLT
39
POC
3
RSD
23
18th 2892 [21]
Ellington Racing 1 Buick MCH
32
CAR
34
Gray Racing 19 Buick DAY
28
NSV POC TAL
Johnny Hayes Racing 55 Buick MCH
5
BRI DAR
8
RCH DOV
5
NWS CLT
5
MAR ATL
20
RSD
7
1983 DAY
42
RCH CAR ATL
14
DAR
34
NWS MAR TAL
2
NSV DOV
29
BRI CLT
34
RSD POC
5
MCH
13
29th 1657 [22]
Chevy DAY
26
NSV POC
31
TAL
22
MCH
13
BRI DAR
8
RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
3
CAR ATL
25
RSD
2
1984 DAY
29
RCH CAR ATL
1*
BRI NWS DAR
27
MAR TAL
5*
NSV DOV CLT
42
RSD POC
9
MCH
28
DAY
5
NSV POC
5
TAL MCH
6
BRI DAR
9
RCH DOV MAR CLT
2*
NWS CAR ATL
4
RSD
5
27th 1865 [23]
1985 Jackson Bros. Motorsports DAY
31
RCH CAR ATL
8
BRI DAR
32
NWS MAR TAL
29
DOV CLT
42
RSD POC
6
MCH
10
DAY
11
POC
6
TAL
36
MCH
5
BRI DAR
8
RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
41
CAR ATL
33
RSD 29th 1427 [24]
1986 Olds DAY
5
RCH CAR ATL
6
BRI DAR
28
NWS MAR TAL
20
DOV CLT
34
RSD POC
33
MCH
41
DAY
36
POC
29
TAL
5
GLN
8
MCH
26
BRI DAR
31
RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
30
CAR ATL
11
RSD
27
30th 1555 [25]
1987 Hendrick Motorsports 35 Chevy DAY
2
CAR
34
RCH
10
ATL
2
DAR
21
NWS
15
BRI
28
MAR
26
TAL
12
CLT
26
DOV
5
POC
33
RSD
34
MCH
9
DAY
35
POC
4
TAL
30
GLN
5
MCH
18
BRI
26
DAR
31
RCH
16
DOV
16
MAR
23
NWS
19
CLT
38
CAR
15
RSD
2
ATL
7
16th 3215 [26]
1988 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford DAY
31
RCH
14
CAR
33
ATL
13
DAR
34
BRI
13
NWS
17
MAR
14
TAL
24
CLT
25
DOV
22
RSD
13
POC
31
MCH
38
DAY
35
POC
35
TAL
27
GLN
39
MCH
15
BRI DAR
13
RCH
20
DOV
27
MAR
20
CLT
12
NWS
QL
CAR
13
PHO
8
ATL
34
24th 2559 [27]
- Qualified but replaced by Jimmy Means
Daytona 500 edit
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1969 Russ Dawson Ford 11 7
1970 Benny Parsons Ford 14 14
1971 DeWitt Racing Ford 12 35
1972 Mercury 33 4
1973 Chevrolet 13 30
1974 10 22
1975 32 1
1976 32 3
1977 6 2
1978 Oldsmobile 8 3
1979 M.C. Anderson Racing Oldsmobile 5 18
1980 14 5
1981 Bud Moore Engineering Ford 4 31
1982 Ranier-Lundy Racing Pontiac 1 26
1983 Johnny Hayes Racing Buick 14 42
1984 Chevrolet 8 29
1985 Jackson Bros. Motorsports Chevrolet 5 31
1986 Oldsmobile 31 5
1987 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4 2
1988 Donlavey Racing Ford 42 31

International Race of Champions edit

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year Make Q1 Q2 Q3 1 2 3 4 Pos. Pts Ref
1975–76 Chevy MCH
4
RSD
5
RSD
9
DAY
1
3rd NA [28]
1977–78 Chevy MCH
9
RSD
9
RSD
8
DAY
5
7th NA [29]
1978–79 MCH
6
MCH RSD RSD ATL NA 0 [30]
1979–80 MCH
6
MCH RSD RSD ATL NA 0 [31]
1984 Chevy MCH
2
CLE
4
TAL
5
MCH
7
4th 47 [32]

Broadcasting career edit

Parsons began announcing as a pit reporter in the 1980s on ESPN and TBS while he was still racing part-time. After permanently retiring from racing in 1988, Parsons became a broadcaster – first on ESPN, and then with NBC and TNT in 2001. He received an ESPN Emmy in 1996, and the ACE Award in 1989. He appears in the videogames NASCAR '99, NASCAR 2000, and NASCAR 2001 as a commentator as well as an unlockable legend (he was only featured in NASCAR 2001 as an announcer). He later appeared in NASCAR Rumble as a legend in the game as well as NASCAR Thunder 2002, NASCAR Thunder 2003, and NASCAR Thunder 2004 as an unlockable driver and featured the game in NBC and TNT telecasts where Parsons did EA Sports Thunder Motion where he took viewers on a virtual ride of each track.

Parsons co-hosted coverage of Winston Cup Qualifying on North Carolina radio station WFMX with Mark Garrow in the early '90s. He continued to co-host a radio program called "Fast Talk" on Performance Racing Network (PRN) with Doug Rice until his death (he was replaced by an alternating host). He also had a podcast available on iTunes, in conjunction with CNN called The CNN Radio Racing Report with Benny Parsons.

Parsons appeared as himself in the 1995 children's video "NASCAR For Kids - A Day At The Races,” acting as the host.

In 2005, Parsons made a cameo appearance as himself in the movie Herbie: Fully Loaded. In 2006, he again appeared as himself in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Illness and death edit

Parsons began having trouble breathing in the summer of 2006. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. He announced later that the treatment had been successful, and that he had a clean bill of health. Parsons had stopped smoking in 1978.

His health prevented him from attending a ceremony in November 2006 where he was to be presented with the Myers Brothers Award, honoring his contributions to racing.

On December 26, 2006, Parsons was readmitted to the hospital and placed in intensive care because of complications relating to lung cancer.[33]

On January 16, 2007, Parsons died of complications from lung cancer treatment in the intensive care unit of the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.[34] He is buried near his childhood home in Purlear, North Carolina, which is now the site of Benny Parsons' Rendezvous Ridge. Rendezvous Ridge is also his wife Terri's residence as well as being a racing museum and a winery.

References edit

  1. ^ Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Benny Parsons Obituary | Benny Parsons Funeral | Legacy.com Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  3. ^ Save The Speedway Race Timeline
  4. ^ "Tom Higgins' Scuffs: May 2006". Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  5. ^ Benny Parsons at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  6. ^ "NASCAR.COM - Benny Parsons reveals he has lung cancer - Jul 26, 2006". Archived from the original on 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2006-07-27.
  7. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1964 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  9. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  10. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  11. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  12. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  13. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  14. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  15. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  16. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  17. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  18. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  19. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  20. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  21. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  22. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  23. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  24. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  25. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  26. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  27. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  28. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1976 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  29. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1978 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  30. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1979 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  31. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1980 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  32. ^ "Benny Parsons – 1984 IROC Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  33. ^ Parsons in Intensive Care Archived January 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ NASCAR.com "Parsons, 65, dies after battle with lung cancer"

External links edit

Sporting positions
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Champion
1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by ARCA Champion
1968–1969
Succeeded by
Achievements
Preceded by Daytona 500 Winner
1975
Succeeded by