Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Parsons named one of greatest

Friday, Feb. 20, 1998 | 1:45 a.m.

BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His motor sports column appears Fridays. He can be reached on the Internet at bh@lasvegassun.com. For the latest in the world of auto racing, check out the SUN Racing web site at http://www. lasvegassun.com/sports/racing/

As a former winner of the Daytona 500, Benny Parsons knew exactly how Dale Earnhardt felt after his win last Sunday. It's also pretty much the same way he felt last weekend when he was named one of the 50 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time.

"It's a pretty awesome thing," Parsons said Thursday during a promotional stop in Las Vegas in conjunction with NASCAR's 50th anniversary.

"Just being a part of NASCAR over the years was a tremendous thrill. Then, when somebody called and said you've been named one of the 50 greatest, it was kind of like Earnhardt said -- and the same thing happened to me when I won the 500 -- the first things that come to your mind is all those people who helped you do the things that you wanted to do that never really got any credit for it."

Parsons, now a highly respected racing analyst for ESPN, won 21 Winston Cup races and 20 poles in a two-decade career that ended with his retirement following the 1988 season.

He won the Daytona 500 in 1975 and the Winston Cup championship in 1973 and was the first NASCAR competitor to qualify above the 200-mph mark (200.176 mph at Talladega in 1976). But he said his fondest memory is his Daytona 500 victory.

"By far," Parsons said. "Ever since you start in the racing business, everyone talks about going to the Beach -- and that's all they say, 'We're going to the Beach,' but everybody knows what they're talking about.

"Winning the Daytona 500 is such a humbling affair (and) I get the impression that Earnhardt was about the same way. I started on a quarter-mile dirt track ... and you struggle along all your life to be a part of this thing and then to win the biggest race of all is really a very humbling experience."

About as humbling, Parsons said, as the notoriety he has gained as a television commentator -- which far exceeds that he had as a driver.

"Oh, yeah, no doubt (I'm more popular now) because they see me on ESPN and RPM 2Night," he said. "If you're a racing fan, you see me all the time. But it's fun because I love the sport and I love to talk about the sport and I love to educate the folks on the sport."

Parsons' enthusiastic, down-home style has been a hit with race fans and critics alike and has earned him an Emmy. Parsons said he tries to give fans as much insight into the drivers' personalities as he does the technical side of racing.

"Everyone can see the nuts and bolts and they can understand that but they can't understand the emotional side of it," Parsons said.

"One reason that Jeff Gordon is so successful is because Jeff Gordon's life is good. He's doing exactly what he wanted to do, he's making a lot of money doing it and he does the things he enjoys doing."

The same can be said for Benny Parsons.

* NASCAR: Race week in Las Vegas will get under way Wednesday night with the running of the NASCAR Winston West Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's 1.5-mile tri-oval. Practice starts at 1:30 p.m., qualifying will begin at 5:30 and the 100-lap race gets the green flag at 8 p.m. ... Admission to Friday's NASCAR Winston Cup qualifying is not included in the price of the Las Vegas 400 race ticket. Admission is $15 for adults (children are admitted free with a paying adult) and there will be no pre-sale of tickets. ... The Santa Fe Hotel and Casino will host a fund-raiser for local driver Chris Trickle on Thursday from 6-11 p.m. Trickle, the nephew of Winston Cup driver Dick Trickle, was critically injured more than a year ago by a gunshot to the head. The fund-raiser will be held in the pavilion of the hotel and will include hors d'oeuvres and live entertainment for a $25 donation. Dick Trickle and several other drivers are scheduled to appear. The event will mark Chris Trickle's first public appearance since the shooting. All proceeds will go to the Chris Trickle Rehabilitation Fund. ... The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has developed a racing tire that will allow Winston Cup cars to race in the rain (if necessary) this August at the Watkins Glen road course.

* CART: Degree antiperspirant/deodorant will join Castrol lubricants as a major sponsor of Dan Gurney's All American Racers two-car CART team, with drivers P.J. Jones and Alex Barron. ... Las Vegas resident Jimmy Vasser finished 10th in the International Race of Champions season opener last weekend at Daytona International Speedway. Vasser, who drives for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing in the CART FedEx Championship Series, ran as high as second early in the rain-shortened race despite a wrist injury suffered in a testing accident at Sebring International Raceway a day earlier. The first installment of the four-race IROC series was won by Winston Cup driver Jeff Gordon. The 100-mile race was shortened by 25 miles due to rain.

* BACKMARKERS: Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts (SNORE) will hold its first race of the 1998 season Saturday at 10 p.m. The Terrible Town 200 will be run at Nelson Hills, 12.3 miles south of Railroad Pass on Highway 95. ... Las Vegas racers Brian Collins and Chuck Harris are among the early entries preparing for the start of the inaugural season of Ivan Stewart's Protruck Off-Road Stadium Series on Saturday, March 7, at Sam Boyd Stadium. The season-opener for the six-race, five-venue 1998 Protruck Off Road Stadium Series will begin at 7:30 p.m. In addition to the featured Protruck division, and the spotlighted Challenge of Champions, the four other classes will be Stadium 1600, Stadium ATV, Stadium ProLite and Stadium 250 ProCross. The Challenge of Champions will feature the legendary Ivan "Ironman" Stewart racing against four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser and off-road champ Robby Gordon. ...

Daredevil Robbie Knievel will attempt the biggest jump in motorcycle history when he attempts to clear 30 limousines at the Tropicana Hotel/Casino. The event, scheduled for Monday at 6:25 p.m., will be televised live by the FOX network. Spectator access to the jump site will be allowed from 2:30-4:30 p.m. ... Race Kart City Raceway, located off the Sloan exit on Interstate 15, will host the Grand Prix Race of Las Vegas today through Sunday. The event is sanctioned by FMK/FIA, the world sanctioning body of karting. Gates open at 10 a.m. each day and admission is $5 (children under 12 are free with a paying adult or guardian). Call 260-6355 for additional information.