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A full generation knows Benny Parsons best for his work behind the steering wheel, banging fenders and hoisting trophies competing alongside Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson in NASCAR’s early heyday.
Another generation appreciates “BP” for his work in front of the television camera, his easy and enlightening way of bringing NASCAR racing into our living rooms and enticing new fans to the sport.
He was supreme at both callings, a natural.
The 1973 premier series champion Parsons won 21 races yet only competed full time for 10 of his 21 years on the circuit. His “retirement” was also highly-decorated earning him an Emmy Award for his work on the other side of the camera.
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His story is a righteous throwback to NASCAR’s formative days, the kind of shake-your-head tale of what can happen when great talent and the right opportunity fuse in unexpected ways.
This Friday, Parsons, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 65, will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame joining Raymond Parks, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and driver Mark Martin in the Hall’s Class of 2017 (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
“I’m not sure how he will be remembered most — for the racing or for the announcing,” Phil Parsons said of his older brother.
“We’re all just so proud, and I know Benny will be smiling down.”
Smiling was something the affable and well-liked Parsons did a lot. And with good reason.
Not only was he successful in racing’s highest levels, but his course to NASCAR’s big time reads more like a grand tale than the methodical, step-by-step path of drivers in today’s era. And for Parsons, it had the happiest of endings.
So the story goes. … Parsons had moved from his North Carolina birthplace to Michigan and was driving taxi cabs for his father’s business. He met a race team at a gas station, asked how he could get involved in the sport, followed through with an invitation to join in and the rest is history, as they say.
In this case, it is truly history. Parsons turned that local racing opportunity into a highly-decorated, nationally-acclaimed career.
Over his 21 years in the premier series, Parsons won the 1973 championship (in only his second full-time season), the 1975 Daytona 500, and the 1980 World 600 at Charlotte. Parsons won at 15 different venues and varied from the smallest of the small like the .357-mile South Boston Speedway to the vast of the vast in Daytona.
Perhaps as notable as his win total is an extraordinary statistic that speaks to Parsons’ ability to make the most out of an even limited opportunity. He finished among the top-10 a remarkable 283 times in 526 starts — more than half the races he entered — a phenomenal and talent-telling indicator.
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From 1972 to 1980 Parsons never finished worse than fifth in the championship standings. And in 1982 he became the first driver to run a qualifying lap at Talladega Superspeedway over 200 mph.
Parsons, who won the ARCA Series championship in 1968 and 1969, also went on to earn an IROC race win on the Daytona high banks in 1976. He collected top-five showings in three of the four IROC races that year pitting NASCAR’s best against the elites of other racing genres.
His was such a robust racing career, people legitimately wondered how much more hardware Parsons could have collected if he’d competed full time more than half his career.
As it turned out, Parsons would hoist other trophies — specifically an Emmy Award. When it came to broadcasting races, Parsons was, simply, beloved.
He had all the knowledge of a champion driver, and made it his passion to stay informed — working the garage for insight and, as his brother Phil likes to joke, a good meal to boot.
Fans loved that about Parsons. He was homey, comfortable, and felt like one of them. But he was also one of the best drivers to ever suit up for a NASCAR race. He brought that all to television, delivering insight and excitement that earned him the 1996 Emmy Award for his work at ESPN.
“There wasn’t a person that Benny didn’t know and not a person that didn’t know him,” Phil Parsons figures.
And that is indicative of how Parsons lived his life.
For as loved and respected as Parsons was by audiences, he was the ultimate big brother to Phil, who followed a similar path, racing (and winning at Talladega in 1988) in the sport’s top series an, now, broadcasting races for FOX Sports.
Benny was just about 16 years older than Phil, who recalls their relationship being based around the race track from the very beginning. His racing hero was also his big brother.
“I remember going with my father to see Benny race once I was old enough, maybe four or five years old,” Phil Parsons said.
“That’s really my first memories of him. And I don’t have too many that didn’t involve racing somehow.”
For Phil and the entire Parsons family, this week is the ultimate acknowledgement of Benny — a beloved role model in the family and a genuine success story all around.
“I know I will be emotional and not sure yet how it will manifest itself,” Phil Parsons said, anticipating the moving Hall of Fame tributes to his brother to come.
“It’s just so special for my family, really a nice tribute.”
And really, so very deserved.