ROCKINGHAM — After retiring from NASCAR in 1988 and being selected as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers a decade later, one would think that the late Benny Parsons would have already been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
His two sons, Kevin Parsons — Vice President for Instruction at Richmond Community College — and Keith Parsons — banker at Community One Bank — certainly feel that way.
“We’re biased,” Kevin Parsons said of he and his younger brother Keith. “We certainly admit that, but we thought he should’ve been in there already. But once you get in, it doesn’t matter when you got in.”
And their father finally got in.
Benny Parsons was rewarded for his career as a driver and announcer when it was revealed Wednesday evening that he was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
During his racing years, Benny Parsons racked up 283 top-10 finishes and 21 wins in the Sprint Cup Series — his last victory coming in 1984 at the Coca-Cola 500 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Some of his other achievements include finishing first in the 1975 Daytona 500, being inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame America in 2005 and most notably, his underdog championship run at the Winston Cup Series in 1973.
Benny Parsons made appearances in several racing-related films, including the 1983 film “Stroker Ace” — as a driver — and the Will Ferrell comedy “Talladega Nights” as an announcer.
“It’s been great,” Keith Parsons said. “Being on social media and having so many people reach out over the last few days. That’s been the fun part about it — everybody telling stories and talking about it. That’s been really neat.”
Mark Martin, who mentioned Benny Parsons as someone who gave him “great advice”, will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Raymond Parks — all car owners — rounded out the Class of 2017.
“It is very, very gratifying,” Kevin Parsons said. “Mr. L.G. DeWitt, we are forever in his debt.”
On his way back to Detroit, Michigan in 1970, after placing 14th in the Daytona 500, Benny Parsons stopped in North Carolina to visit some of his family members in his hometown of Wilkes County. While sitting in his uncle’s barbershop, Benny Parsons received a call from L.G. DeWitt — a NASCAR stock car owner from Ellerbe.
Parsons had been in contact with John Hill, who was the crew chief of DeWitt’s race team. Because the Ford company that supported racers like Parsons back in Detroit had pulled their support in order to save money, Parsons was unsure of his next move.
The driver of DeWitt’s car, Buddy Young, was involved in a terrible accident during the first race of the year out in California.
The call to Parsons was to see if the future Hall of Famer could drive for DeWitt Racing at the next race in Richmond, Virginia. DeWitt expected Young to fully recover and made it clear that Young was his driver — he just needed Benny Parsons to fill in until he returned. And Parsons was fine with that.
Unfortunately for Young, serious head injuries prevented him from driving again.
Parsons began driving for DeWitt Racing in the third race of the 1970 season and ended the year with 23 top-10 finishes and a eighth place finish in the final point standings.
That was the start of the DeWitt-Parsons team that shocked the NASCAR world by winning the championship in 1973.
“So, he had this huge moment. He wins a championship and he’s on the top of the world,” Keith Parsons said. “And the next year, they had a horrible year. They didn’t win any races. Had a lot of mechanical failures and accidents. He was ready to quit, because he didn’t think he was good enough.
“He wanted to run well, run up front and he did everything he could to make that happen. And when that didn’t happen, he wasn’t a happy camper.”
The same competitive nature that almost drove Benny Parsons to calling it quits, was the same nature that allowed him to become one of the most accomplished drivers NASCAR has ever seen.
He was so competitive, Kevin said, that he would become ill whenever he wouldn’t perform up to his standards.
“The last year he drove, he was physically ill from just not running well,” Kevin Parsons said. “He went to many doctors and nothing was wrong with him. It was all just in his head, because he was not running good.
“The next year, he could’ve driven for that same team (Donlavey Racing). They were not used to running that well. They had a little more money than they’d been having before my dad drove for him. He could’ve drove that car, but he could not stand another year like that.”
Benny Parsons would retire after the ‘88 season and spend the rest of his career as NASCAR reporter for various television networks until he passed away from lung cancer on January 16, 2007.
“I miss him, period. Every day,” Kevin Parsons added. “He loved to play golf and I’d give anything to play golf with him again.”
The induction ceremony — which will be held January 20, 2017 — will allow Kevin and Keith Parsons to reconnect with some of the racing families they grew up sharing a lot of their memories with.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some folks we haven’t seen in a long, long time,” Kevin Parsons said. “Back then, we would see them every week just about. I’d love to catch up with people that were on his race teams, because they were your best friends for years.”
Keith agreed with his brother’s sentiment, while also adding his own hopes for next year’s ceremony.
“I don’t want my daughters to meet Richard Petty because he’s famous,” Keith Parsons explained. “If we see Richard, I want them to know that this a man that my dad was friends with — they raced together. I want to get that to my daughters. That their grandfather was a part of something special and other people thought he was something special.”
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.
