Greg Biffle believes that without help from Benny Parsons, he never would have reached NASCAR's highest level. Michael Waltrip credits Parsons for giving him the courage to propose to his wife in Victory Lane.
Parsons was remembered Tuesday in every corner of the NASCAR garage for his generous nature, lovable personality and overwhelming popularity. The 1973 NASCAR champion died in Charlotte, N.C., of complications from lung-cancer treatment. He was 65.
"Every time I think about how lucky I am to have the job and the life I have, I think of "BP" because he's the reason I ever got this opportunity," said Biffle, whom Parsons discovered in the mid-1990s and then convinced car owner Jack Roush to hire him sight unseen.
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| Benny Parsons added the Daytona 500 to his victories in 1975. (AP) |
Parsons carried an oxygen tank around the race track, but the former smoker couldn't win this fight. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments cost Parsons the use of his left lung, and he was hospitalized Dec. 26 when doctors found a blood clot in his right lung. He was placed in an induced-coma and never recovered.
"Benny Parsons was a true champion -- both on the race track and in life," NASCAR chairman Brian France said. "Benny loved our sport and the people that make it up and those people loved him. He will be remembered as being a great ambassador for the sport."
The 1973 NASCAR champion, Parsons was a member of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. He won 21 races, including the 1975 Daytona 500, and 20 poles. He was the first Cup competitor to qualify for a race faster than 200 mph, going 200.176 mph at the 1982 Winston 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
He retired from racing in 1988 and entered broadcasting, where his folksy style and straight-shooting manner endeared him to fans and drivers. Sometimes referred to as "The Professor" because of his relaxed ability to deliver information, Parsons spent the past six years as an NBC and TNT commentator and continued to call races from the booth during his treatment.
"When you talked to him he brought out the human element," said Waltrip, who tested this week at Daytona International Speedway in a car that had "We Love You, BP" painted on the side.
"The cars are nuts and bolts, but he talked through that. He was able to deliver to the people. He just tried to be passionate about what he believed and he did a great job of explaining what people were seeing."
Known throughout NASCAR as "BP," Parsons hosted a weekly radio program and kept fans updated on his condition in a blog on his Web site.
"As my radiation oncologist told me today, John Wayne lived and had a great career with one lung. There is no reason why I can't do the same." Parsons said in a Dec. 18 entry after learning of the damage to his left lung.
"If given a choice between cancer or losing a lung I would say that I got the right end of the deal," he added.
