Happy 84th Birthday Saturday August 12th to Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones. Thank you for everything you have done for the sport of auto racing.
I saw Parnelli win the Trans Am race at MIS in May of '69. It rained,snowed, dried, and got warm before the race was over. Parnelli passed our spot on the second lap with a 2x6 sticking out the grille and the car covered with mud. He eventually passed the entire field, with a different panel bent on each lap. He was all assholes and elbows and by the end of the race there was not a straight panel on the car. They gave the trophy to Mark Donahue, but Bud Moore's protest revealed that in fact Parnelli had completed one more lap than Donahue. So Parnelli and Ford got the points and the win. Despite his off course excursion on lap one, he lapped the entire field, and apparently traded paint with every other car in the process!
In 1964, I think, he was still driving Aggajanian's roadster - Calhoun. When he came in for a pit stop there was a fueling mishap. The car caught fire and there was a photo of Parnellie bailing out of the right side of the car - parallel to the ground and about two feet off the pavement. When one of the local television stations asked him about it and his thoughts at that moment his reply was " I didn't care if I broke a leg or what, all I wanted from that son of a bitch was OUT ! "
I just unearthed this out of my collection. Met him a few years back and signed my plaque. One of the great ones for sure. Happy birthday to you sir!
A racers racer. I was happy to be on the same course as he. The Baja 1000. You didn't want to hold him up! Happy birthday!
The Jalopy Journal
