Munter: Reeling in 'Catfish' tales

Although many people hadn't heard the name Billy "Catfish" Parker until he was announced as the driver of the No. 66 Duraflame Dodge for Rusty Wallace's new Busch Series race team, Catfish has been paying his dues in the racing business for a long time.

Everyone loves the story -- you know, the one about the guy who's been working his butt off at the local short tracks and finally gets his big break and makes it to the big time? It's a Cinderella story, NASCAR style. And if Catfish is Cinderella then Rusty Wallace is holding the glass slipper. And that glass slipper? It fits just fine.

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OK, I know you want to ask about the nickname. Well here's the story. A young Billy Parker was racing on the short tracks of North Carolina and working on a stock car in an old run down race shop. The floor of the garage was dirt, the equipment was run down... this was not a multi-million dollar Nextel Cup garage.

"He basically lived on my farm for a summer, working on the car during the day and racing on the weekend," said race shop owner Mike Lackey. When Mike would see Billy he was filthy -- covered in dirt and grease looking like he "had just come out of a coal mine." Mike said to Billy "you are really slumming aren't you?" He was "bottom dwelling"-- just like a catfish.

So if you ever make it out to the short tracks of North Carolina, don't ask if Billy Parker raced there. They've never heard of him. But if you ask about a guy named Catfish everyone will know exactly who you're talking about and you'll be sure to get an ear full of Catfish stories.

Though you may not know of Catfish, perhaps you've heard of his older brother Hank Parker Jr., who raced the No. 36 GNC Busch Series car in 2001 and 2002 and now drives the No. 21 Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Or maybe you know his dad Hank Parker Sr., a famous professional bass fisherman and the host of "Hank Parker's Outdoor Magazine" on The Outdoor Life Network. Well, now there's another Parker that's making a name for himself. And it's been a long road for this Parker.

Catfish was born in Denver, N.C. in 1977 and began racing go-karts in 1990. From there he went to legend cars, then street stocks and by 1997 he was racing late models -- the big show at the local short tracks.

VIDEO CLIPS 'Catfish' Parker on getting the call from Rusty Wallace Play video Catfish makes the move to NBS and top-notch equipment Play video

In 1999, Catfish scored the first of his many late model stock car wins. He won two more late model races in 2000 and made his first Busch Series start at Memphis Motorsports Park, qualifying in the seventh position.

While Catfish raced his way through the NASCAR ranks, he often got out of the driver's seat to work as a crew chief for brother Hank Jr.

"Billy and I grew up racing together and he put his career on hold for me," says Hank Jr. "He worked on my race cars because our family didn't have the time or money to field two cars. We worked well together and I'll always back him up."

In 2001, Catfish got two more Busch Series starts and one start in the ASA series. In his first time driving an ASA car and his first time ever at South Boston Speedway, Catfish qualified 2nd and finished 7th.

He also worked as a mechanic for ppc Racing's Busch Series team with driver Jeff Green and crew chief Harold Holly. That apprenticeship was eventually to become a seat in a race car for Catfish. When the plan fell apart (as they often do in racing), Catfish left ppc to build himself a late model stock car and get himself back behind the wheel.

It was about that time that I arrived in North Carolina from California with my helmet in tow and dreams of racing the short tracks. Catfish was the first one to help me out -- he introduced me to the right people on the late model circuit, came to practice sessions with me and was my spotter for my first late model race. He taught me about race cars and he taught me about hanging in there when the going got tough.

"It's not going to be easy but you knew that when you came here," he would say, "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it."

A prankster at heart, Catfish always knows how to make you laugh when life gets too serious. But don't let the easy-going attitude fool you. At 26, Catfish is still of "young gun" status, but he has been through a lot in his lifetime and is wise beyond his years.

"Listen to yourself," he would say over the radio as I drove, "just do what comes natural."

What comes natural to Catfish is winning. Catfish was busy building his late model for most of the 2002 racing season but when he put that race car on the track at Hickory Motor Speedway, he was tough to beat.

Although he was running on a limited budget and was his own crew chief, he posted three wins and three pole positions in 2002. He returned in 2003 and recorded five wins and five poles in six races. In four of his five victories, Catfish led every lap en route to the checkered flag.

I knew when I first saw Catfish race his plain white sponsor-less No. 86 late model stock car at Hickory Motor Speedway that he was going to be a champion one day. His father knew it too.

"Billy is a dedicated boy who never lost his focus and deserves the break he's getting," said proud father Hank Sr. "I'm very excited for him."

Eventually it would not be his father, but another man that would be able to give Catfish what his father undoubtedly would have given his son had his bank account allowed. Catfish caught the eye of a man by the name of Rusty Wallace and the rest, as they say, is history.

Last September Rusty announced Catfish as the driver of his No. 66 Duraflame Dodge Busch Series race car for RWI Racing. Though the team has only raced once, they've had some impressive results.

At the Vegas test in February, though the times are unofficial, Catfish posted the fastest lap of 170.508 mph, a sliver faster than Kyle Busch. He returned for the race and was second quickest in the first practice session at 170.854 mph. After qualifying 15th and many problems on pit road, he brought the No. 66 Duraflame Dodge home in the 28th spot.

"I'm really happy with the way things turned out. There were so many question marks coming into the race, but the team's performance answered them all. One area where we're definitely not lacking is the driver," Rusty said.

"Billy really drove his heart out. He drove the car as hard as he could; I'm pretty sure he passed every car on the race track. We got caught in the pits by that one caution flag and then left a lug nut loose; that really killed us. If it weren't for that, I really think we had a heck of a shot at winning that race."

The Catfish story will continue on April 3 at Texas Motor Speedway. Trust me, you're going to hear a lot more from this kid. He's a hell of a wheel man.

Rusty said that when he's ready to hang up his helmet for good, he would like to see Catfish behind the wheel of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in Nextel Cup. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill, but I'll tell you what -- if anyone can do it, Catfish can.

Leilani Munter is a writer and correspondent for NASCAR.COM.