| Benny Parsons was one of the most consistent | | | | ended up with a 25th place finish, which was |
| drivers in the history of NASCAR. He finished | | | | enough to take the Championship. |
| between 3rd and 5th in the final points standings | | | | In 1982, Parsons became a record-holder by |
| from 1974 to 1980. Don Naman, Executive | | | | qualifying for the Winston 500 at Talladega |
| Director of The International Sports Hall of Fame | | | | Superspeedway with a speed of 200.175mph. |
| said, "Out of 526 NASCAR events, Benny finished | | | | That accomplishment made him the first |
| in the Top 10 283 times and in the Top 5 199 | | | | NASCAR driver to qualify a stock car with a |
| times, making him one of the most consistent | | | | speed over 200mph. In the mid-80's, Parsons |
| drivers in recent history." | | | | decided to dabble in broadcasting along with his |
| Parsons was a down-to-earth man from the hills | | | | part-time racing schedule. This "dabbling" turned |
| of North Carolina; a happy man who loved people | | | | out to be quite a career and he began to do |
| and made them feel special just talking with them. | | | | announcing and pit reporting for ESPN and TBS. |
| As a young man, he spent some time working at | | | | The 1984 Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta was Parsons' |
| a gas station where he met a couple of | | | | last victory. He did however return to the track |
| customers towing a racecar. They invited him to | | | | to be a substitute driver for Tim Richmond who |
| a local track to watch and when the driver never | | | | was stricken with AIDS. Parsons retired from |
| showed up, Benny was elected to drive in his first | | | | racing after the 1988 season and cranked up his |
| race ever. That event launched a phenomenal | | | | broadcasting career with ESPN, TNT, and NBC. He |
| career for him in racing. | | | | is famous for his radio shows "Fast Talk with |
| His NASCAR career began with only one race | | | | Benny Parsons" and "The CNN Radio Racing |
| during the '64 season. He joined the circuit | | | | Report with Benny Parsons". |
| full-time in 1970 and finished in the top-ten 23 | | | | In the summer of 2006, Parsons noticed that he |
| times out of 45 races. He finished eighth in points. | | | | was having some difficulty breathing. He had |
| In 1973 Parsons was in contention for the | | | | stopped smoking back in the '70s but was |
| NASCAR Cup Championship when he was in an | | | | diagnosed with lung cancer and died of |
| early crash at Rockingham that sent him to the | | | | complications from the treatment in early 2007. |
| pits. His hopes for the Championship were fading | | | | He is laid to rest in Purlear, NC at the site of his |
| due to the heavy damage to his racecar and he | | | | vineyard. His dream was to share the beauty of |
| was hoping for at least a top-five finish in the | | | | the NC mountains with his friends and fans. Today |
| standings. The guys in the garage were pulling for | | | | there is a racing museum and wine tasting room |
| the "underdog" and rallied together to help | | | | on the bottom floor of the home that he built at |
| Parsons' crew piece the car back together. 136 | | | | Rendezvous Mountain. |
| laps later, Parsons was back on the track and | | | | |