Home Page American Government Reference Desk Shopping Special Collections About Us Contribute



Escort, Inc.






GM Icons
By accessing/using The Crittenden Automotive Library/CarsAndRacingStuff.com, you signify your agreement with the Terms of Use on our Legal Information page. Our Privacy Policy is also available there.

Benny Parsons


Stock Car Racing

Benny Parsons
Person

Born:  July 12, 1941
Died:  January 16, 2007
Hometown:  Ellerbe, North Carolina

"BP," as he was known, was a former NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup driver between 1969 and 1988.  He retired with one Winston Cup Championship and 21 wins, including the 1975 Daytona 500.

His last job was as a NASCAR racing commentator for NBC and TNT.

In July of 2006 he was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung.  He underwent both chemotherpy and radiation treatments, eventually declared cancer-free in October.  However, the treatments left him without the use of his left lung.  He was hospitalized again in December 2006 when a blood clot was found in his right lung.  He was placed in an induced coma.  He died on January 16th, 2007 in Charlotte, North Carolina.


1968 ARCA Racing Series Champion
1969 ARCA Racing Series Champion
1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion
1975 Daytona 500 Winner
First NASCAR Winston Cup driver to qualify over 200 mph (200.176 at the 1982 Winston 500)
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers

Darrell Waltrip once said of him that, "Benny Parsons was the kindest, sweetest, most considerate person I have ever known.  He was almost too nice to be a race car driver, and I say that as a compliment."

Page Sections
Photographs
Article Index


Photographs

Benny Parsons at the 1983 Van Scoy 500 1983 Van Scoy 500
The Johnny Hayes Skoal Buick of Benny Parsons had a good run in the 1983 Van Scoy 500, finishing 5th.
Photo by Mike Traverse
View photo of Benny Parsons at the 1983 Van Scoy 500 - 424KB
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License (CC BY-SA 2.0).
1985 Benny Parsons Car at the 1985 Champion Spark Plug 400 1985 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1985 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,547KB
1986 Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,477KB
1986 Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,403KB
1986 Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,512KB
1986 Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1986 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,191KB
1987 Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,383KB
1987 Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,289KB
1987 Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 320KB
1987 Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,195KB
1987 Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,484KB
1988 Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,278KB
1988 Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,383KB
1988 Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,208KB
1988 Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,323KB
1988 Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400
Photo courtesy Photo ©John Walczak.  All Rights Reserved.  Used with permission.
View photo of Benny Parsons Car at the 1988 Champion Spark Plug 400 - 1,284KB


Article Index

DateArticleAuthor/Source
18 January 2003NASCAR Winston Cup PreviewAllen Bestwick
Benny Parsons
15 June 2016In Honor of 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Benny ParsonsCongressional Record: Rep. Richard Hudson





The Crittenden Automotive Library