Johnny Parsons

Last updated
Johnny Parsons
Indy500 JohnnyParsons.JPG
Parsons in 2014
Nationality Flag of the United States.svg American
BornJohn Wayne Parsons
(1944-08-26) August 26, 1944 (age 79)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Champ Car career
102 races run over 26 years
Years active1969-1989, 1991-1995
Best finish10th – 1976
First race 1969 Golden State 100 (Sacramento)
Last race 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 200 (Milwaukee)
WinsPodiums Poles
022
IndyCar Series career
4 races run over 2 years
Best finish17th – 1996
First race 1996 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World (Orlando)
Last race 1996 Las Vegas 500K (Las Vegas)
WinsPodiums Poles
000

John Wayne Parsons [1] [2] (born August 26, 1944 in Van Nuys, California) is an American race car driver. He is the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnnie Parsons. He drove Indy cars in the USAC National Championship, and also drove USAC championship dirt cars. Parsons made twelve starts at the Indianapolis 500, with a best finish of 5th in 1977 and 1985.

Contents

Racing career

Parsons started twelve Indianapolis 500 races. His last Indy 500 start was the 1996 race.

Parsons finished second in the 1977 USAC National points. Parsons has also twice finished second in the USAC championship dirt cars. [3]

Parsons won 29 midget car features (as of 1994), including major wins at: the 4-Crown Nationals midget car feature twice, the 1979 Hut Hundred, and the 1986 Copper World Classic midget feature. [3] He has won two Silver Crown and five sprint car features. [3]

When Davey Hamilton decided to come out of retirement to run in the 2007 Indy 500, Parsons replaced him as the driver expert for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network's broadcasts of race activities.

Racing family

Johnny Parsons is the son of Johnnie Parsons and Arza Parsons (née Mitchell). His parents divorced, and Johnny was raised with half-brothers Dana Carter and Duane "Pancho" Carter Jr., the product of Arza's marriage with Duane Carter Sr. The Carters grew up racing quarter-midgets in Indianapolis. [3] His first name is spelled differently than his father's. Though not his legal name, he was sometimes referred to in the media as "Johnny Parsons Jr." to distinguish him from his father.

Career award

Racing record

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

YearEntrant12345678PosPoints
1977 TRE MIL MOS PIR
DNS
--
1979 TEX1 IRP MIL1
4
POC
19
TEX2 MIL2
22
MIN1
21
MIN2
4
11th250

IRL IndyCar Series

YearTeamChassisNo.Engine12345678910RankPointsRef
1996 Blueprint Racing Lola T9316 Menard WDW
18
PHX
12
INDY
28
17th141 [4]
1996-97 Buick NH1
LV1
28
WDW
PHX
INDY
TEX
PIK
CMS
NH2
LV2
51st7 [5]

Indianapolis 500 results

Johnny Parsons at the 2016 Brickyard SVRA Pro-Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. JohnnyParsonsSVRA2016.jpg
Johnny Parsons at the 2016 Brickyard SVRA Pro-Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
YearChassisEngineStartFinish
1969Failed to Qualify
1973King Offy Practice Crash
1974Finley Offy 29th26th
1975 Eagle Offy 12th19th
1976 Eagle Offy 14th12th
1977WildcatDGS11th5th
1978Lightning Offy 8th10th
1979LightningDGS9th32nd
1980Lightning Offy 7th26th
1981Lightning Chevrolet Failed to Qualify
1982 March Cosworth 25th20th
1983 Penske Cosworth 23rd22nd
1984 Penske Cosworth Failed to Qualify
1985 March Cosworth 26th5th
1986 March Cosworth 28th27th
1987 March Buick Failed to Qualify
1988 March Cosworth Failed to Qualify
1989 March/Lola Cosworth Failed to Qualify
1991 Lola Cosworth Failed to Qualify
1992 Lola Buick Failed to Qualify
1993 Chevrolet Failed to Qualify
1994 Lola GreenfieldFailed to Qualify
1995 Reynard Ford-Cosworth Failed to Qualify
1996 Lola Menard-Buick 27th28th

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. J. Foyt</span> American racing driver (born 1935)

Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. is an American former racing driver who competed in numerous disciplines of motorsport. He is best known for his open wheel racing career, and for becoming the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He holds the most American National Championship titles in history, winning seven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger McCluskey</span> American racing driver (1930–1993)

Roger McCluskey was an American IndyCar driver. He was raised in Tucson, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Auto Club</span> Auto racing sanctioning body in the United States

The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500. Today, USAC serves as the sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks, and Pirelli World Challenge. Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones is USAC's Competition Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midget car racing</span> Type of racing using midget cars

Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most continents. There is a worldwide tour and national midget tours in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodger Ward</span> American racing driver (1921–2004)

Rodger Morris Ward was an American racing driver best known for his open-wheel career. He is generally regarded as one of the finest drivers of his generation, and is best known for winning two National Championships, and two Indianapolis 500s, both in 1959 and 1962. He also won the AAA National Stock Car Championship in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duane Carter</span> American racing driver

Duane Carter was an American racecar driver. He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars. Carter was born in Fresno, California, and he died in Indianapolis, Indiana. His son Pancho raced in Indy cars, along with Johnny Parsons.

John Ashley Thomson was an American racecar driver. Thomson was nicknamed "the Flying Scot." He won several championships in midgets and sprint cars before competing in Championship Car racing. He won the pole position for the 1959 Indianapolis 500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Vukovich</span> American racing driver (1918–1955)

William John "Bill" Vukovich was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnnie Parsons</span> American racing driver (1918–1984)

John Woodrow "Johnnie" Parsons was an American racing driver in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series. He was the 1949 AAA national champion, and won the 1950 Indianapolis 500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Hanks</span> American racing driver (1914–1994)

Samuel Dwight "Sam" Hanks was an American racing driver who won the 1957 Indianapolis 500. He was a barnstormer, and raced midget and Championship cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parnelli Jones</span> American racing driver (born 1933)

Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones is an American former professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and the Trans-Am Championship series. In 1962, he became the first driver to qualify over 150 mph. He won the race in 1963, then famously broke down while leading the 1967 race with three laps to go in a turbine car. During his career as an owner, he won the Indy 500 in 1970–1971 with driver Al Unser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Vogler</span> American racing driver (1950–1990)

Richard Frank Vogler was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Carpenter (racing driver)</span> American racing driver (born 1981)

Everette Edward Carpenter, Jr. is an American auto racing driver, currently competing in the IndyCar Series for his team, Ed Carpenter Racing. He is the stepson of Indy Racing League founder Tony George.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pancho Carter</span> American racing driver (born 1950)

Duane Claude Carter Jr., nicknamed "Pancho," is an American retired open-wheel racing driver. Best known for his participation in Championship car racing, he won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the Michigan 500 in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Economaki</span> American journalist (1920–2012)

Christopher Constantine Economaki was a pioneering American motorsports journalist, publisher, reporter, and commentator known as "The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism." Working for, and later owning, National Speed Sport News, Economaki helped encourage the growth of American motorsports from a niche endeavor to a mainstream pursuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Saldana</span> American racing driver

Joe Saldana is an American former open-wheel racing driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Clauson</span> American racing driver

Bryan Timothy Clauson was an American professional auto racing driver, best known for his achievements in dirt track open-wheel racing, such as USAC Silver Crown, Midget and Sprint cars. Clauson was increasingly seen competing with the World of Outlaws (WoO) sprint cars in his last couple of years. Clauson also competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Indy Lights, and IndyCar Series and was a development driver for Chip Ganassi Racing.

There has been auto racing in Illinois for almost as long as there have been automobiles. Almost every type of motorsport found in the United States can be found in Illinois. Both modern and historic tracks exist in Illinois, including NASCAR's Chicagoland Speedway and Gateway International Speedway. Notable drivers from Illinois include Danica Patrick, Tony Bettenhausen, and Fred Lorenzen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AAA and USAC Stock Car</span> Motorsports sanctioning body

The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently competed in races and won championships. Several NASCAR drivers raced in USAC Stock Cars at various points in their careers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Windom</span> American auto racing driver

Christopher R. Windom is an American professional racing driver. Windom was the seventh driver to complete a United States Auto Club (USAC) Triple Crown by winning titles in sprint cars, midget cars, and Silver Crown.

References

  1. "Johnny Parsons". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  2. 1975 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (May 25, 1975)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Biography Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
  4. "Johnny Parsons – 1996 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  5. "Johnny Parsons – 1997 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2023.