Nascars Benny Parsons passes away...

[halicat]

I have no details...

but just read on the net Benny Parsons has passed away....

BP was a great driver and of late a great comentator on Nascar races...

there will be many tears shed for him and he will be dearly missed this coming season by all the Nascar fans and participants...

God luv ya Benny....:cry:

[blackcat]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Benny Parsons, a taxi driver who became a NASCAR champion in 1973, died Tuesday from lung-cancer complications, his son Keith said. He was 65.
Parsons died in Charlotte, N.C., where he had been hospitalized since Dec. 26.
A member of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers and a lovable fixture at the track, Parsons won 21 races, including the 1975 Daytona 500, and 20 poles. He was the first Cup competitor to qualify for a race faster than 200 mph, going 200.176 mph at the 1982 Winston 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.



He retired from racing in 1988 and entered broadcasting. He spent the past six years as an NBC and TNT commentator and continued to call races from the booth during his treatment.
He also was a regular contributor on NASCAR to MSNBC.com.
“Benny Parsons was a true champion — both on the race track and in life,” NASCAR chairman Brian France said. “Benny loved our sport and the people that make it up and those people loved him. He will be remembered as being a great ambassador for the sport.”
Parsons was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung in July. Parson, who quit smoking in 1978, underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments and was declared cancer-free in October. But the treatment cost Parsons the use of his left lung, and he was hospitalized last month when doctors found a blood clot in his right lung. He was placed in an induced-coma.

ALSO ON THIS STORY
Read columns from Benny Parsons (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3053419/?qp=53167)


Parsons, known throughout NASCAR as “BP,” hosted a weekly radio program and kept fans updated on his condition in a blog on his Web site.
“As my radiation oncologist told me today, John Wayne lived and had a great career with one lung. There is no reason why I can’t do the same.” Parsons said in a Dec. 18 entry after learning of the damage to his left lung.
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/ap/ny15201161636.standard.jpgJohn Amis / AP

“If given a choice between cancer or losing a lung I would say that I got the right end of the deal,” he added.
That feisty spirit was one of Parsons’ trademarks, carrying him from a poor childhood in the North Carolina foothills to a job driving taxis and then to the top of NASCAR.
He remained popular with fans and the driving community. Michael Waltrip came to preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway this week with “We Love You BP” painted on the side of his car.
“Benny Parsons was the kindest, sweetest, most considerate person I have ever known,” said Darrell Waltrip, a three-time NASCAR champion. “He was almost too nice to be a race car driver, and I say that as a compliment. In my 30 odd years of racing Benny Parsons, I never knew of anyone being mad at Benny.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/images/icons/slideshow.gif



Parsons was always on the lookout for new talent, and proved to have a keen eye when he discovered Greg Biffle and urged car owner Jack Roush to hire him sight unseen. Biffle went on to win championships in NASCAR’s Truck and Busch Series and is now a top Nextel Cup driver.
“It’s obvious he’s the only reason why I am here in this sport,” Biffle said. “I would still be in Washington racing local stuff if not for BP.”
Parsons’ death comes eight days after former Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton lost his battle with cancer.

[Tangled up in 'Vitamin C']

...one of my all time "old time" favorites....always enjoyed his wit and wisdom....

[MKAT]

:cry: BP will be missed by all of us, he was Old School, and got where he was, by hard work and talent. - MKAT

[AC-INXS]

I really enjoyed his broadcast rhetoric,,,,,,,,he had been in the seat, and knew what it took to survive out on the track. I'll miss him.

I seen that he missed several races, but it was later said he had battled his illness,,and won. Figured he was a 'go' for the upcoming season. I was shocked to hear the news yesterday,,,,,,shows one never knows,,,,,

The racing community has lost a great one! R I P BENNY