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Benny Parsons | |||||||
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Born | Benjamin Stewart Parsons July 12, 1941 Wilkesboro, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
Died | January 16, 2007 Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | (aged 65)||||||
Cause of death | Complications resulting from lung cancer | ||||||
Achievements | 1973 Winston Cup Series Champion 1968 ARCA Racing Series Champion 1969 ARCA Racing Series Champion 1975 Daytona 500 Winner 1980 World 600 Winner 1969 Daytona ARCA 300 Winner 1982 Daytona 500 Pole Sitter | ||||||
Awards | 1965 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1994) Court of Legends at Charlotte Motor Speedway (1994) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2005) ESPN Emmy (1996) ACE Award (1989) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2017) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)1988, Inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
526 races run over 21 years | |||||||
Best finish | 1st (1973) | ||||||
First race | 1964 (Weaverville) | ||||||
Last race | 1988 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
First win | 1971 Halifax County 100 (South Boston) | ||||||
Last win | 1984 Coca-Cola 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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NASCAR Grand National East Series career | |||||||
2 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 33rd (1973) | ||||||
First race | 1972 Buddy Shuman 300 (Hickory) | ||||||
Last race | 1973 Sunoco 260 (Hickory) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of October 31, 2013. |
Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, and was a 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. He was the older brother of former NASCAR driver, car owner, and broadcaster Phil Parsons of Phil Parsons Racing.
He was nicknamed "BP" and The Professor, the latter in part because of his popular remarks and relaxed demeanor.