 | | Shane Parsnow, head engine builder for Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 team, won the Clevite Engine Builder of the Year. Credit: Autostock |
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
December 1, 2006
11:38 PM EST (04:38 GMT)
NEW YORK -- NASCAR Champions Week in New York may seem like an excuse to get all dressed up and eat rubbery chicken, but it also serves to remind everyone the importance of the general team member. It was my pleasure on Thursday to be there when Shane Parsnow, the engine builder for Jimmie Johnson, was awarded the Clevite Engine Builder of the Year award. You've probably never seen or heard of Parsnow. He looks like a circa 1991 picture of Jeff Gordon, complete with wavy black hair and large black mustache. He is also one of the most valuable behind-the-scenes guys on the circuit, and his talents have helped him win three championships for three different race teams. I first talked to Parsnow, 36, in 2003 while researching an article on Alan Kulwicki. Parsnow was a young engine builder when Kulwicki won the title in 1992. He later joined Gordon's team and helped build title-winning motors for the 24 car. Parsnow doubled as a tire changer until 2005, when he elected to go off the road and concentrate full time on engine building. It paid off, as Johnson didn't lose a single motor all season. Don't ditch the dish On Thursday, NASCAR held its annual Myers Brothers Luncheon, a very nice affair that mainly serves to hand out various contingency awards with some ... unique ... trophies. Mike Ford, crew chief for Denny Hamlin, was presented the DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year award. His trophy was basically a DirecTV dish mounted on a block of wood. Sledding, anyone? Richard Childress is ... Michael Jackson? Another trophy handed out was the Mechanix Wear Team Award, which went to Jeff Burton's No. 31 team. The trophy was a silver glove encased in glass. And yes, the few hundred people in the audience automatically thought of Michael Jackson when they saw the thing. Obviously, that is exactly what Burton thought about when accepting the award for his Richard Childress Racing team. He quipped, "Richard will wear this on pit road at Daytona and do the moonwalk." Burton: I am off during the offseason Burton has made the (expensive) decision to ignore his wife's honey-do list. "I have learned the art of just don't do it," Burton said. "The more they ask you to do, the more you don't do, the more they ask you not to do. The problem is that my wife will call someone and hire them to do it and it'll cost me a fortune so I don't know if my strategy is working very well. "I get lazy pretty quick." Parsons videotapes acceptance speech Benny Parsons wasn't in New York to accept his Myers Brothers Award, named after NASCAR pioneers Billy and Bobby Myers. Parsons videotaped his acceptance speech and said in a strong voice that he was winning his five-month battle with lung cancer.  |  | | Kyle Busch got his girlfriend's number from the back of her photo. Credit: Autostock |
| |  | RED CARPET AUCTION | The NASCAR Foundation will have a Red Carpet Online Charity Auction for fans to bid on clothing and accessories worn by NASCAR celebrities at the Nextel Cup Series Awards Banquet in New York.
The auction will go live during the banquet on Dec. 1 -- so check back for more info.
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Parsons has lost all of his hair and appeared tired and down a few pounds, but the former driver and longtime broadcaster said that he would be back in the booth next summer when races are shown on TNT. And yes, the picture helped I again coaxed some good stories from Kyle Busch, who naturally brought along his significant other, Erica, on Thursday. Kyle met Erica by accident. In 2004, he was racing at now-defunct Nazareth Speedway, and his coach driver went to the grocery store to pick up food for the weekend. The coach driver met Erica's mother and mentioned in passing that he worked for Kyle Busch, and Erica's mom gave him a picture of her daughter with a phone number on the back. Kyle, Part II Busch has a very dry and imaginative wit. At the Hendrick Motorsports shop, employees spun a wheel to receive bonus money, and Busch joked to one of them that he would match his amount. Well, the guy spun the wheel and came up with $1,000, which Busch promptly matched -- in nickels. Quote of the Day "I feel like it is something that SCCA has loaned NASCAR and I feel like we should give it back to them." -- Tony Stewart, speaking about the Car of Tomorrow The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. | 
