RUFAS PARNELL "PARNELLI" JONES - 08/12/1933
a retired American racing driver and race car 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. He also had much success racing in the NASCAR series. 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. 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. 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 and had a clearly superior car. He went on to win the 500. Also that year, 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 1968, Jones headed a super-roster of seven drivers signed by Andy Granatelli to drive STP Lotus 56 turbine cars in an unprecedented single-team assault on the Indianapolis 500. The deaths of Jim Clark and Mike Spence, plus a serious injury to Jackie Stewart, whittled the entry to four. Jones, testing his reworked 1967 car in practice, was dissatisfied with the car's
performance compared to the newer "wedge"-shaped Lotus 56 turbines, and had concluded the car was unsafe. He stepped out of the car, which was subsequently assigned to Joe Leonard, who promptly wrecked the car in practice. Jones retired from driving Indy Cars, but later admitted, "If I hadn't already won Indy, they could never they could never had kept me out of that car". Jones entered the 1968 Baja 1000 Jones led until the 150-mile marker. The Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame describes Jones' racing style: "Jones and Stroppe had to find a way to keep their vehicles in one piece. During races Jones would push the vehicles at maximum speeds until they gave way, with Stroppe telling him at top volume the entire
Cup Series - Riverside 1964
1967 Indy 500
time to take it easier on the vehicle." Jones had a special car fabricated that looked like a Bronco, but had racing parts that could withstand rigorous jarring that off-road vehicles endure. Jones named the vehicle "Big Oly" after his sponsor Olympia Beer. Jones used the vehicle to lead the Mexican 1000 from start to finish in a new record time of 14 hours and 59 minutes. Jones had major wins in the 1973 season. He won his second Mexican 1000 in 16 hours and 42 minutes. He also won the 1973 Baja 500 and Mint 400 off-road events. Jones had a major accident at SCORE International's 1974 Baja 500, and stepped away from full-time off-road racing to become a race car owner.
For his career Jones competed in 34 Cup events, and won four times. Two of those wins came at Riverside on the road course, with another being the final Cup race at Ascot Park in Los Angeles. In his Indy car races he ran 59 times, and won six events. He also won 25 midget car feature events in occasional races between 1960 and 1967, and had 25 career sprint car wins. Some info from Wikipedia.
"Big Oly" on course in the Mexican 1000
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