Sheldon Creed, the 2018 ARCA Menards Series champion, will be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame’s ARCA Wall of Champions on Thursday, April 25. Creed, who won four times on his way to the title, currently drives for GMS Racing’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series team. He has also maintained his presence in Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Truck Series, where he won both halves of a doubleheader at Texas Motor Speedway.
Continue reading
1973: Benny Parsons inside his L. G. DeWitt-owned Chevrolet at a NASCAR Cup race. Parsons finished in the top-ten in 21 of 28 races and won the Volunteer 500 at the Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway on his way to winning the NASCAR Cup championship.
Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images
A single word defined the late Benny Parsons: Beloved.
It mattered not whether you were fellow competitor, race fan or television viewer. Parsons was more than just a top premier series driver or broadcaster.
To race with him – or just to meet him – Parsons had the aura of being the best friend you wished you had.
Parsons became the NASCAR premier series champion in 1973. He won 21 times, a resume that included the 1975 Daytona 500.
“Benny didn’t win a lot of races – some thought he wasn’t ruthless enough – but few drivers won more friends and fans,” wrote Larry Woody in a 2014 Racin’ Today story.
“Ten minutes and you bonded with him,” said Rick Hendrick, whose Chevrolets Parsons drove in 1987.
Parsons, who died in 2007 at age 65, will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). His fellow inductees among the Class of 2017 include Hendrick, Richard Childress, Mark Martin and Raymond Parks. Continue reading
1949: NASCAR’s first “Super Team,” consisted of car owner Raymond Parks (L), mechanic Red Vogt (C) and driver Red Byron (R). The trio captured the first-ever NASCAR title, the 1948 Modified championship, then went on this year to take home the first NASCAR Cup championship.
Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images
As one of early stock car racing’s most successful car owners, it is appropriate that Raymond Parks captured the first two championships offered by the fledgling National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, an organization Parks helped form in 1947.
Parks and his driver, Red Byron, won NASCAR’s modified title in 1948. The pair, along with mechanic Red Vogt, became the sanctioning body’s 1949 Strictly Stock champions – the initial season of what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The Dawson County, Georgia, native and his racing team were gone from NASCAR after 1955, winning just twice. But Parks, who died in 2010 at the age of 96, was seen as one of the sport’s seminal figures and a visionary.
“He set the standard. Mr. Parks brought the sport class,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty in a speedwaymedia.com interview shortly after Parks’ death. “It took people like Mr. Parks to lay the foundation we’re living off of.
“And without him, we wouldn’t have the history we have and we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Parks’ contributions will be celebrated Jan. 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). His fellow inductees among the Hall’s Class of 2017 are Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin and Benny Parsons. Continue reading
Todd Gilliland at 9:30 pm ET on Monday, April 11, 2016. Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
Todd Gilliland is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, April 11, 2016 at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East teams head to Bristol Motor Speedway for their next event and topping the storylines of the weekend is 15-year-old Todd Gilliland with Bill McAnally Racing. A 2016 rookie of the year contender in the K&N West, Gilliland is on a unique historic journey to break a 50-year series record if he scores his fifth consecutive victory on Saturday, April 16th. Continue reading
Chris Young and HLN’s Robin Meade to Sing National Anthems During Aaron’s Dream Weekend at Talladega
Two well-known national personalities – country music superstar Chris Young and noted news journalist and recording artist Robin Meade – have been selected to sing the National Anthems during Aaron’s Dream Weekend (May 3-5) at Talladega Superspeedway.
Chris Young
Photo – Talladega Superspeedway
Young will give his rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” prior to the Saturday, May 4, Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, which is scheduled for a 2 pm (CST) start. Meade will provide the fans with her version on Sunday, May 5, moments before the start of the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, set for a noon (CST) green flag. In addition, Young will deliver Talladega fans an added bonus with a free Saturday night Infield Concert, held near the historic Talladega Boulevard. Continue reading