Showing posts with label Parnelli Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parnelli Jones. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 09, 2026
Saturday, May 02, 2026
Tuesday, December 02, 2025
Renaults getting driven at Mosport John Sprague/Parnelli Jones in one, another is Jack Armstrong/AJ Foyt per door panel signs ( I'm certain no race car drivers today have as much variety - Indy, sprint cars, midgets, Nascar, Pike's Peak, GP, etc)
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10225224316475244&set=gm.2934437563416141&idorvanity=527146584145263
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Saturday, August 02, 2025
Monday, April 14, 2025
Tuesday, June 04, 2024
Parnelli died today. Last of the bullring ironmen racers. Winner of the Indy 500 as a driver and team owner, 100 jalopy races, the Motor Trend Riverside 500 and 4 other USAC stock car races, the 1970 Trans Am championship, Pikes Peak, 4 sprint car championships, Baja 1000 and Baja 500 in the Big Oly, member of 8 Hall of Fames. He retired over 50 years ago from driving... but he's going to be legend forever.
Robin Miller said it best: U.S. motorsport’s Mount Rushmore would feature A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney and Parnelli.
Parnelli was among those elite sports stars Shaq, Fangio, Stirling, and Shelby, etc who require only one name for everyone to know the subject of the conversation. There is only one Parnelli, and yes, he was the all-time leader of the Broke While Leading category. But winners are often the ones pushing their equipment the hardest
But Parnelli wasn't really his name, he was born Rufus Parnell Jones. And he raced a car called Ol Calhoun! That's cool, very cool, to THIS car guy!
He grew up poor—and poorly educated—and did a long, painful apprenticeship running jalopies on Southern California bullrings. Yet despite racing during what was statistically the most dangerous era in motorsports history, he was never seriously injured, and he ended up as one of the wealthiest drivers in the world.
Parnelli was the first driver at Indy to ever qualify over 150 miles per hour in 1962 and participated in the Baja 1000, raced midget cars, stock cars, sprint cars, ORVs and more during his career.
the best write up of Parnelli is at https://racer.com/2024/06/04/parnelli-jones-1933-2024
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
this is the coolest story I've read all month... Terry got Parnelli Jones to sign his car! Thank you Terry for sharing the photos and telling the story! This is great!
After waiting eighteen years to purchase my 1957 Custom 300, I wanted to give it some of my own flavor.
I had read that Parnelli Jones had won his first NASCAR race in Bremerton Washington and thought I would do a tribute to that car. All the pictures I could find were in black and shite so I called the Parnelli Jones Museum and asked what color wheels Vel's Ford ran on their cars as they ran three stock cars then, all with different color wheels.
They checked with Mr. Jones and he could not remember the color but did add he did not like the car, and if the sponsor was not attending a race, he would take the 1956 Ford. A few years later I find out that Parnelli was going to be the Grand Marshall at the Seattle Nostalgic races and I planned my trip.
On the three hour drive there I broke a brand new roller rocker and limped it to the race track on 7 1/2 cylinders.
Once there the security guard will not let me in the pits with the car. I walk in, borrow a pit pass and park the 57 behind the VIP tent.
I speak with his handlers and tell them the story of his first victory and they say NO WAY, he is not going to walk behind the tent to see the car.
I get in line and get his autograph on the program and ask him personally, and he tells no problem. When he sees the car it is 'hey, I drove one just like that'.
It was like Christmas!
Monday, November 15, 2021
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Friday, August 07, 2020
Tuesday, June 02, 2020
Saturday, November 23, 2019
back in 2011 I took a lot of photos of Big Oly (the remake of Parnelli's Bronco) and only one of the original, but this year I got the opportunity to take photos of the original... and it's pretty cool, and has some terrific original stickers and decals, a couple I've never seen before
best sticker I ever saw, that's just killer
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/11/big-oly-new-baja-race-vehicle-tribute.html
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Sunday, April 28, 2019
dd you know that Johnny Carson took a spin around the Indianapolis Speedway, at speed, and was only prevented from crashing by none other than Parnelli Jones?
In September of 1967, Carson got to do a few hot laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Parnelli Jones’ STP Turbine Indy racer. Carson’s ride in the turbine car was a result of his relationship with STP boss Andy Granatelli. STP was a major sponsor of the Tonight Show and Granatelli, always a good interview, had been Carson’s guest on the show a number of times. Perhaps the relationship had grown out of Granatelli’s role at Studebaker. Carson was one of the first owners of the Avanti.
“Andy [Granatelli] and I took him around in the pace car. I was driving and Andy was in the backseat. After a couple of laps, while I was pointing out the proper groove, Johnny said, ‘I got it, let me try it.’ We switched seats and he took it around the first time. He did OK through the third turn and then the fourth turn, but going down the straightaway he was going too deep. When he didn’t back off, I yelled at him and grabbed the steering wheel.
He was doing what nearly all laymen do when they get a chance to drive. They think all you have to do is stand on it all the way around. You can’t do that in a race car, and you can’t in a passenger car, either, but they all seem to think you can. He was no different.
“He was a quick learner. “I’d shook him up a little, but he did just what I told him. He gained a lot of respect for the race car. And I had a lot of respect for how he did. He did really well.”
Though not nearly as fast as Jones in the car, Carson’s best lap averaged a respectable 138 mph after getting some pointers from Jones, Granatelli and Andretti. By comparison, it took a speed of at least 162 mph to qualify for the 500 that year.
Tuesday, April 02, 2019
I noticed this photo because those flames and number look far too good to be on a 32 Vicky jalopy racer... turns out, they are. Von Dutch did them, and that is Parnelli Jones!
This is the only time I've ever heard of this Von Dutch flamejob... which, after 12 years of looking up everything he did, and getting every book about him, is shocking.
The only book of his work I don't have a copy of is that personal sketchbook of Von Dutch's, and his photo album - which - I guarantee, has a lot photos of the work he did that no one has put into books or websites.
Anyway, shocking to find an EARLY Von Dutch piece that no one has mentioned, on a POS junkyard racer. Notice the words on the door, Firestone Auto Wreckers. Von Dutch painted it for a case of beer
He used this race car at Long Beach Veterans Stadium and Orange Show Stadium in Riverside, Ca in 1955.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Laguna Seca 1966, Can Am, Parnelli Jones said it was the best race he ever drove. He started last on the 2nd heat, and won.
unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a Youtube video of it. Damn, when a legendary racer tells us his best drive was a certain race, and there's not a single video we can watch of it.. that is just Murphy's Law being mean as hell
http://ruiamaraljr.blogspot.com/2013/07/canam.html
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
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