Parnelli Jones

Rufus Parnell “Parnelli” Jones (born August 12, 1933 in Texarkana, Arkansas), is a retired American racing driver and racecar owner. He is most remembered for his 1963 Indianapolis 500 win, and almost winning the 1967 Indy 500 in a turbine car. He is also remembered for bringing the stock block engine to USAC Sprint car racing as one of the “Chevy Twins” with Jim Hurtubise. In his career, Parnelli Jones won races in many types of vehicles: sports cars, IndyCars, sprint cars, midget cars, off-road vehicles, and stock cars. He is associated with the famous Boss 302 Mustang with his wins using the engine in the 1970s. Jones’ son P. J. Jones was also a diverse driver, with IndyCar and NASCAR starts. His other son Page Jones was an up-and-coming driver before suffering career ending (and life-threatening) injuries in a sprint car at the 4-Crown Nationals, and has been in rehabilitation, working with his father-in-law. Jones’ family moved to Torrance, California, where he grew up (and still lives). He was nicknamed Parnelli by his boyhood friend Billy Calder, who hoped that the Jones family would not discover their son was racing cars as a 17 year old minor. Jones participated in his first race in a Jalopy race at Carroll Speedway in Gardena, California. He developed his racing skills by racing in many different classes in the 1950s, including 15 stock car racing wins in the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Series. His first major championship was the Midwest region Sprint car title in 1960. The title caught the attention of promoter J. C. Agajanian, who became his sponsor. He began racing at Indianapolis in 1961.Jones was named the 1961 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, an honor that he shared with Bobby Marshman. In 1962, he was the first driver to qualify over 150 mph at the Indianapolis 500, winning the pole position at a speed of 150.370 mph. In the 1963 Indianapolis 500, he started on the pole. His car developed a horizontal leak in the oil reservoir with less than 40 laps to go. His car owner fought to keep the car from being black flagged. The oil level dropped to the level of the crack, and the leak stopped. Jones went on to win the race. Legendary vehicle fabricator Bill Stroppe built a Mercury Marauder USAC Stock car for Jones. Jones won the 1963 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the car, and broke the stock car speed record. In 1967, he drove in the Indianapolis 500 for owner Andy Granatelli in the revolutionary Pratt & Whitney Turbine. Jones dominated the race but dropped out with three laps to go when a small, inexpensive bearing broke. After 1968, turbine powered cars were legislated out of competitiveness. Jones retired with six IndyCar wins and twelve pole positions, four wins in 34 NASCAR starts, 25 midget car feature wins in occasional races between 1960 and 1967, and 25 career sprint car wins. His fifteen wins is eighth on the all-time in NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model history. Jones started Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, which won the Indianapolis 500 again as an owner in 1970 and 1971 with driver Al Unser driving the Johnny Lightning special. The team also won the 1971, 1972, and 1973 USAC National Championships. Jones is inducted in over 20 Halls of Fame including: the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame (1976) the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1990) the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1990) the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1991) the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1992) the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2002) Jones owned and operated several successful businesses. He owned Parnelli Jones Inc., which operated 47 retail Parnelli Jones Tire Centers in four states. Parnelli Jones Enterprises was a chain of Firestone Racing Tires in 14 Western United States. Parnelli Jones Wholesale was a reseller which sold and distributed shock absorbers, passenger car tires, and other automotive products to retail tire dealers.