Benny Parsons

Benny Parsons, a former NASCAR champion and Daytona 500 winner who gained an even wider following as a cheerful stock car racing broadcaster, died Tuesday of complications from lung cancer. He was 65. Parsons, a onetime taxi driver who won his series title in 1973, died in Charlotte, N.C., where he had been hospitalized since last month. An ex-smoker who quit the habit nearly 30 years ago, Parsons was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung last July.

The Nicorette 300 Busch Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 17 will be dedicated to the memory of NASCAR great Benny Parsons, who died last month from complications of lung cancer. In celebration of "BP," the Parsons family will be honored and recognized as Grand Marshals of the race. Parsons' brother, Phil Parsons, a former Cup driver and current Speed TV broadcaster, will represent the family at the race.

Want a hunch bet for the final Winston Cup stock car race Sunday at Riverside? Try Benny Parsons. He's a finisher--in a different manner of speaking. When Ontario Motor Speedway closed in 1980, Parsons won the last race there, The Los Angeles Times 500. When Texas World Speedway closed at College Station in 1981, Parsons won the last race there, too, the Budweiser 400. Now it's Riverside's turn to close, and Parsons will be driving his Ford Thunderbird in the final race, another Budweiser 400.

Benny Parsons, a former NASCAR champion and Daytona 500 winner who gained an even wider following as a cheerful stock car racing broadcaster, died Tuesday of complications from lung cancer. He was 65. Parsons, a onetime taxi driver who won his series title in 1973, died in Charlotte, N.C., where he had been hospitalized since last month. An ex-smoker who quit the habit nearly 30 years ago, Parsons was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung last July.

Chasing a Winston Cup driving championship isn't quite what it was 30 years ago. On the other hand, there are some parallels. Ask Benny Parsons. The lovable teddy bear from Ellerbe, N.C., won the championship in 1973, even though he'd won only one race. "It wasn't that big a deal, winning the championship, back then," Parsons recalled in a phone call from his home. "I think David [Pearson] won 11 races and I only won one. "My reaction was mostly, 'Whew, it's over.'

The Nicorette 300 Busch Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 17 will be dedicated to the memory of NASCAR great Benny Parsons, who died last month from complications of lung cancer. In celebration of "BP," the Parsons family will be honored and recognized as Grand Marshals of the race. Parsons' brother, Phil Parsons, a former Cup driver and current Speed TV broadcaster, will represent the family at the race.

Indianapolis 500 winner Tom Sneva and NASCAR champion Benny Parsons, two of the most popular drivers in American motor sports, will be among a group of nine racing personalities inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on Thursday in Detroit. Better known as a TV racing analyst by today's viewers, Parsons won the 1973 Winston Cup championship in one of stock car racing's most dramatic finishes.

Kurt Busch won the year-end Nextel Cup championship Sunday. A look at the previous NASCAR champions by year: * 2003...Matt Kenseth * 2002...Tony Stewart * 2001...Jeff Gordon * 2000...Bobby Labonte * 1999...Dale Jarrett * 1998...Jeff Gordon * 1997...Jeff Gordon * 1996...Terry Labonte * 1995...Jeff Gordon * 1994...Dale Earnhardt * 1993...Dale Earnhardt * 1992...Alan Kulwicki * 1991...Dale Earnhardt * 1990...Dale Earnhardt * 1989...Rusty Wallace * 1988...Bill Elliott * 1987...Dale Earnhardt * 1986.

Bill Elliott and Cale Yarborough occupy the pole positions today at Daytona International Speedway in the two 125-mile qualifying races designed to assign 38 more positions for Sunday's $1.2-million Daytona 500-mile race. Elliott established the speed record for a NASCAR lap when he registered a 205.114 m.p.h. last Saturday. Yarborough, seeking a third straight Daytona 500 win, also broke his track record with a speed of 203.814. Elliott will be on the pole for the first race.

What: "RaceWarrior," a comic book, created by John A. Powell III When: Every week for 38 weeks, starting this week Where: $2.99 at WalMart and Target stores, 99 cents if purchased with a 7-Up Want to know what NASCAR will be like two decades into the future? Powell and his team of writers and artists do their best to portray America's favorite racing sport futuristically, much the way "Star Wars" showcases interplanetary travel, complete with the sounds of "Skrash! Skrrom! Whap!"

Indianapolis 500 winner Tom Sneva and NASCAR champion Benny Parsons, two of the most popular drivers in American motor sports, will be among a group of nine racing personalities inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on Thursday in Detroit. Better known as a TV racing analyst by today's viewers, Parsons won the 1973 Winston Cup championship in one of stock car racing's most dramatic finishes.

Chasing a Winston Cup driving championship isn't quite what it was 30 years ago. On the other hand, there are some parallels. Ask Benny Parsons. The lovable teddy bear from Ellerbe, N.C., won the championship in 1973, even though he'd won only one race. "It wasn't that big a deal, winning the championship, back then," Parsons recalled in a phone call from his home. "I think David [Pearson] won 11 races and I only won one. "My reaction was mostly, 'Whew, it's over.'

Want a hunch bet for the final Winston Cup stock car race Sunday at Riverside? Try Benny Parsons. He's a finisher--in a different manner of speaking. When Ontario Motor Speedway closed in 1980, Parsons won the last race there, The Los Angeles Times 500. When Texas World Speedway closed at College Station in 1981, Parsons won the last race there, too, the Budweiser 400. Now it's Riverside's turn to close, and Parsons will be driving his Ford Thunderbird in the final race, another Budweiser 400.

Bill Elliott broke his own all-time stock car qualifying mark Thursday en route to winning the pole position for Sunday's Winston 500 NASCAR stock car race. The driver from Dawsonville, Ga., earned his fifth consecutive pole at Alabama International Motor Speedway with his fast lap averaging 212.809 m.p.h. That 44.998-second trip around Talladega's 2.66-mile, high-banked oval broke the record of 212.229 that Elliott set in qualifying for this race last May.

Dale Earnhardt overcame a crash and raced to his fifth Winston Cup circuit victory in seven starts Sunday by winning the accident-marred Valleydale 500. The Kannapolis, N.C., driver, who was involved in three-car wreck with Sterling Marlin and Geoff Bodine on the 243rd lap, held off a late charge by Richard Petty and won by .79 seconds. Marlin, who had led at the time, was knocked out of the race by the wreck.