# Benny Parsons

Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, and was a 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. He was the older brother of former NASCAR driver, car owner, and broadcaster Phil Parsons of Phil Parsons Racing.
He was nicknamed "BP" and "the Professor", the latter in part because of his popular remarks and relaxed demeanor.

## Early life

Parsons was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina. He spent his childhood years in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and played football at Millers Creek High School (now known as West Wilkes High School). Following high school, he moved to Detroit, Michigan where his father operated a taxicab company. Parsons worked at a gas station and drove cabs in Detroit before beginning his racing career. While working at the gas station one day, a couple of customers towing a race car invited him to a local race track. The driver of the car never showed up for that evening's race, and Parsons drove the car in a race for the first time later that night. Benny later moved to Ellerbe, North Carolina and always called it home.

## Driving career
### 1960s

Parsons began his NASCAR career by running a single race in 1964 for Holman-Moody with a young Cale Yarborough.
Parsons won the 1968 and 1969 ARCA championships, and then moved to Ellerbe, North Carolina.
Parsons had three top-10 finishes in four NASCAR races in 1969.

### 1970s

Benny joined the NASCAR circuit full-time in 1970 with crew chief John Hill. He had 23 top-10 finishes in 45 races, a pole at Langley Field Speedway, and finished eighth in the final point standings. He raced the No. 72 car for L.G. DeWitt/DeWitt Racing.
Parsons had 18 top-10 finishes in 35 starts in 1971, including his first win at South Boston Speedway. He finished eleventh in the points.
In 1972, he had 19 top-10 finishes in 31 races. He finished fifth in the final points standings.
In 1973, he won the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship with only one win, even though David Pearson won eleven races, although Pearson had only entered eighteen events. Parsons' consistency likely won him the championship: he had 21 top-10 and 15 top-5 finishes in the 28 events.
His improbable return to the track after an early crash cemented his 1973 championship at Rockingham, North Carolina. He saw his championship hopes start to fade as he was involved in a lap 13 crash and his car was heavily damaged. He took to the pits to muster whatever he could out of the car and hope for a top five finish in the final standings. The rest of the garage was hoping to see the underdog unseat the mighty Richard Petty and joined in to help Parsons' crew put the car back together. Parsons miraculously got back on the track 136 laps later and completed enough laps to finish 25th and take the 1973 championship. Richard Petty, with the championship in his sights after winning the pole and seeing Parsons' accident, had engine trouble and was relegated to a 35th-place finish. The poor performance dropped Petty all the way to fifth in the final standings, as Cale Yarborough took the runner up spot on the season with his third-place effort. Yarborough finished 67 points behind the champion.
Parsons became the only person to win both ARCA and NASCAR championships.
Parsons finished between third and fifth in the final points standings from 1974 to 1980, and won the 1975 Daytona 500. He switched to the No. 27 entry for M.C. Anderson starting in 1979.
In 1979 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Bobby Allison led most of the race, but in the final 150 laps, Darrell Waltrip caught Allison. The two hit together hard and Waltrip hit the front stretch wall. Waltrip began crowding Allison under the caution and got black flagged for the crowding. Benny Parsons would win the race, but it would be his only win at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Parsons' wife Terri, with whom he was married from 1992 until his death in 2007, became an investor in North Wilkesboro Speedway two years after his death.

### 1980s

He won the 1980 World 600 at Charlotte and the Los Angeles Times 500 (the final major motor race held at Ontario Motor Speedway) and finished 3rd in points.
In 1981, he started racing in the No. 15 Bud Moore Ford Thunderbird. He had wins at Nashville Speedway USA, the final race at Texas World Speedway, and Richmond. In addition, he received his final top-ten points finish, finishing tenth that year.
Parsons qualified for the 1982 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway at 200.175 miles per hour (mph), which was the first NASCAR qualification run over 200 mph (322 km/h).
Parsons raced in about half of the races between 1983 and 1986 for owner Johnny Hayes. Parsons' final career victory came in 1984 at the Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta.
He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.
Parsons joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1987 as a substitute driver for Tim Richmond, who was stricken with AIDS. During the first lap of a race at Darlington Raceway, Parsons hit the wall and badly damaged his race car. He was able to continue, but had to make several pit stops for repairs. At one point, his crew chief, Harry Hyde, refused to allow Parsons to pit because he and the crew were on an ice cream break. This incident was alluded to in the film, Days of Thunder. Another scene in the film was inspired by a real-life incident at Martinsville Speedway involving Parsons and the notoriously cantankerous Hyde. Hyde sarcastically told Parsons to hit the pace car on a restart because it was the only thing on the track that Parsons had not hit.
Parsons drove the No. 90 Bulls Eye BBQ Ford for Junie Donlavey in his final NASCAR season in 1988 and then moved to the broadcast booth, a position that he would hold until his death.
Parsons did decide to race a few other times. The first was during the 2003 Old Dominion 500 as part of an advertising segment for "Wally's World." He then drove a ceremonial victory lap at the last fall race at Rockingham in 2003 in a 1973 Chevrolet similar to the one in which he had won a championship.
Parsons is also credited with discovering former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle at a "Gong Show" held in Tucson, Arizona.

## Awards and statistics

* Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of the Class of 2017.
* Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.
* Named as one of the NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
* Inducted into the Court of Legends at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1994.
* Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.
* Had 283 top 10 finishes, led at least one lap in 192 races, and finished no lower than fifth in points between 1972 and 1980.

## Motorsports career results
### NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

#### Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | NGNC | Pts |
| 1964 | Holman-Moody | 06 | Ford | CON | AUG | JSP | SVH | RSD | DAY | DAY | DAY | RCH | BRI | GPS | BGS | ATL | AWS | HBO | PIF | CLB | NWS | MAR | SVH | DAR | LGY | HCY | SBO | CLT | GPS | ASH | ATL | CON | NSV | CHT | BIR | VAL | PIF | DAY | ODS | OBS | BRR | ISP | GLN | LIN | BRI | NSV | MBS | AWS 21 | DTS | ONA | CLB | BGS | STR | DAR | HCY | RCH | ODS | HBO | MAR | SVH | NWS | CLT | HAR | AUG | JAC | 120th | 130 |
| 1969 | Russ Dawson | 88 | Ford | MGR | MGY | RSD | DAY 5 | DAY | DAY 7 | CAR | AUG | BRI | ATL | CLB | HCY | GPS | RCH | NWS | MAR | AWS | DAR | BLV | LGY | CLT | MGR | SMR | MCH | KPT | GPS | NCF | DAY | DOV | TPN | TRN | BLV | BRI | NSV | SMR | ATL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 56th | 183 |
| 1969 | Russ Dawson | 18 | Ford | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MCH 38 | SBO | BGS | AWS | DAR | HCY | RCH | TAL | CLB | MAR | NWS | CLT | SVH | AUG | CAR | JFC | MGR | TWS 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 56th | 183 |
| 1970 | Benny Parsons | 88 | Ford | RSD | DAY | DAY 7 | DAY 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8th | 2993 |
| 1970 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Ford | | | | | RCH 15 | CAR 21 | SVH 4 | ATL 8 | BRI 27 | TAL 4 | NWS 28 | CLB 16 | DAR 5 | BLV 12 | LGY 5 | CLT 3 | SMR | MAR 38 | MCH 10 | RSD 18 | HCY 6 | KPT 13 | GPS 5 | DAY 31 | AST 25 | TPN 3 | TRN 7 | BRI 19 | SMR 13 | NSV 22 | ATL 8 | CLB 16 | ONA 23 | MCH 8 | TAL 35 | BGS 5 | SBO 4 | DAR 39 | HCY 15 | RCH 6 | DOV 5 | NCF 14 | NWS 6 | CLT 4 | MAR 9 | MGR 7 | CAR 33 | LGY 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8th | 2993 |
| 1971 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Ford | RSD 3 | DAY | DAY 5 | DAY 35 | | RCH 3 | | HCY 3 | BRI 5 | ATL 36 | CLB 2* | GPS 5 | SMR 2 | NWS 4 | MAR 16 | | SBO 1 | | ASH 12 | KPT 23 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RCH 25 | NWS 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11th | 2611 |
| 1971 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Mercury | | | | | ONT 9 | | CAR 25 | | | | | | | | | DAR 23 | | TAL 48 | | | CLT 7 | DOV 23 | MCH 28 | RSD 22 | HOU | GPS | DAY | BRI | AST | ISP | TRN | NSV 3 | ATL 3 | BGS | ONA | MCH 38 | TAL 47 | CLB | HCY | DAR 16 | MAR 6 | CLT 10 | DOV 29 | CAR 6 | MGR | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11th | 2611 |
| 1971 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | TWS 38 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11th | 2611 |

#### Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | NWCC | Pts | Ref |
| 1972 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Ford | RSD 40 | | RCH 8 | | CAR 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5th | 6844.15 | |
| 1972 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Mercury | | DAY 4 | | ONT 14 | | ATL 7 | BRI 21 | DAR 4 | NWS 5 | MAR 20 | TAL 10 | CLT 4 | DOV 6 | MCH 25 | RSD 2 | TWS 4 | DAY 36 | BRI 4 | TRN 8 | ATL 4 | TAL 25 | MCH 7 | NSV 4 | DAR 35 | RCH 23 | DOV 34 | MAR 6 | NWS 4 | CLT 38 | CAR 35 | TWS 6 | 5th | 6844.15 | |
| 1973 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Chevy | RSD 14 | DAY 30 | RCH 10 | CAR 31 | | ATL 3 | NWS 2 | DAR 2 | MAR 6 | TAL 3 | NSV 2 | CLT 5 | DOV 6 | TWS 7 | RSD 3 | MCH 9 | DAY 5 | BRI 1* | ATL 25 | TAL 38 | NSV 19 | DAR 5 | RCH 4 | DOV 4 | NWS 5 | MAR 6 | CLT 4 | CAR 28 | | | | 1st | 7173.8 | |
| 1973 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Mercury | | | | | BRI 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | 7173.8 |
| 1974 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Chevy | RSD 4 | DAY 22 | RCH 13 | CAR 23 | BRI 3 | ATL 29 | DAR 32 | NWS 4 | MAR 4 | TAL 2 | NSV 16 | DOV 4 | CLT 31 | RSD 3 | MCH 25 | DAY 27 | BRI 17 | NSV 7 | ATL 8 | POC 5 | TAL 5 | MCH 22 | DAR 26 | RCH 2 | DOV 4 | NWS 13 | MAR 15 | CLT 27 | CAR 9 | | | 5th | 1591.5 | |
| 1974 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Ford | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ONT 35 | | 5th | 1591.5 | |
| 1975 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Chevy | RSD 24 | DAY 1 | RCH 3 | CAR 22 | BRI 2 | ATL 28 | NWS 6 | DAR 6 | MAR 6 | TAL 43 | NSV 2 | DOV 23 | CLT 39 | RSD 3 | MCH 34 | DAY 8 | NSV 4 | POC 4 | TAL 6 | MCH 34 | DAR 20 | DOV 3 | NWS 6 | MAR 2 | CLT 4 | RCH 18 | CAR 24 | BRI 5 | ATL 19 | ONT 34 | | 4th | 3820 | |
| 1976 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Chevy | RSD 5 | DAY 3 | CAR 5 | RCH 9 | BRI 3 | ATL 2 | NWS 4 | DAR 3 | MAR 20 | TAL 26 | NSV 3 | DOV 1 | CLT 5 | RSD 3 | MCH 19 | DAY 7 | NSV 1 | POC 3 | TAL 39 | MCH 9 | BRI 4 | DAR 7 | RCH 29 | DOV 26 | MAR 5 | NWS 2 | CLT 5 | CAR 31 | ATL 6 | ONT 3 | | 3rd | 4304 | |
| 1977 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Chevy | RSD 21 | DAY 2 | RCH 3 | CAR 12 | ATL 26 | NWS 3 | DAR 5 | BRI 5 | MAR 2 | TAL 3 | NSV 1 | DOV 6 | CLT 3 | RSD 27 | MCH 3 | DAY 3 | NSV 18 | POC 1* | TAL 24 | MCH 3 | BRI 3 | DAR 25 | RCH 3 | DOV 1* | MAR 2 | NWS 5 | CLT 1* | CAR 7 | ATL 3 | ONT 12 | | 3rd | 4570 | |
| 1978 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Chevy | RSD 2 | | RCH 1 | CAR 3 | ATL 13 | BRI 2* | DAR 1 | NWS 3 | MAR 15 | | DOV 4 | | NSV 20 | RSD 1 | | | NSV 6 | POC 29 | | | | DAR 10 | RCH 6 | DOV 26 | MAR 3 | NWS 6 | | CAR 4 | | ONT 8 | | 4th | 4350 | |
| 1978 | DeWitt Racing | 72 | Olds | | DAY 3 | | | | | | | | TAL 31 | | CLT 6 | | | MCH 3 | DAY 26 | | | TAL 3 | MCH 13 | BRI 2 | | | | | | CLT 28 | | ATL 5 | | | | 4th | 4350 | |
| 1979 | M.C. Anderson Racing | 27 | Chevy | RSD 26 | | CAR 10 | RCH 4 | ATL 5 | NWS 3 | | DAR 4 | MAR 19 | | NSV 7 | DOV 7 | CLT 5 | TWS 25 | RSD 5 | MCH 31 | | NSV 4 | POC 4 | | MCH 3 | BRI 4* | DAR 5 | RCH 8 | DOV 22 | MAR 27 | CLT 6 | NWS 1 | CAR 2* | ATL 31 | ONT 1* | 5th | 4256 | |
| 1979 | M.C. Anderson Racing | 27 | Olds | | DAY 18 | | | | | BRI 5 | | | TAL 35 | | | | | | | DAY 2 | | | TAL 21 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5th | 4256 | |
| 1980 | M.C. Anderson Racing | 27 | Chevy | RSD 33 | | RCH 28 | CAR 21 | ATL 30 | BRI 4 | DAR 2 | NWS 5 | MAR 2 | | NSV 2 | DOV 22 | CLT 1 | TWS 23 | RSD 3 | MCH 1* | | NSV 3* | POC 20 | | MCH 8 | BRI 5 | DAR 4 | RCH 10 | DOV 5 | NWS 6 | MAR 4 | CLT 33 | CAR 23 | ATL 32 | ONT 1 | 3rd | 4278 | |
| 1980 | M.C. Anderson Racing | 27 | Olds | | DAY 5 | | | | | | | | TAL 8 | | | | | | | DAY 6 | | | TAL 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3rd | 4278 | |
| 1981 | Bud Moore Engineering | 15 | Ford | RSD 16 | DAY 31 | RCH 5 | CAR 24 | ATL 5 | BRI 5 | NWS 21 | DAR 5 | MAR 23 | TAL 36 | NSV 1 | DOV 32 | CLT 37 | TWS 1 | RSD 20 | MCH 3 | DAY 39 | NSV 3 | POC 3 | TAL 13 | MCH 26 | BRI 6 | DAR 39 | RCH 1 | DOV 34 | MAR 24 | NWS 29 | CLT 38 | CAR 6 | ATL 36 | RSD 27 | 10th | 3449 | |
| 1982 | Ranier-Lundy Racing | 28 | Pontiac | DAY 26 | RCH 3* | BRI 9 | ATL 4 | CAR 3 | DAR 4 | NWS 4 | MAR 29 | TAL 3* | NSV 22 | DOV 20 | CLT 39 | POC 3 | RSD 23 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18th | 2892 | |
| 1982 | Ellington Racing | 1 | Buick | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MCH 32 | | | | | | | | | | | | | CAR 34 | | | | | | 18th | 2892 |
| 1982 | Gray Racing | 19 | Buick | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DAY 28 | NSV | POC | TAL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18th | 2892 |
| 1982 | Johnny Hayes Racing | 55 | Buick | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MCH 5 | BRI | DAR 8 | RCH | DOV 5 | NWS | CLT 5 | MAR | | ATL 20 | RSD 7 | | 18th | 2892 | |
| 1983 | Johnny Hayes Racing | 55 | Buick | DAY 42 | RCH | CAR | ATL 14 | DAR 34 | NWS | MAR | TAL 2 | NSV | DOV 29 | BRI | CLT 34 | RSD | POC 5 | MCH 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 29th | 1657 | |
| 1983 | Johnny Hayes Racing | 55 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DAY 26 | NSV | POC 31 | TAL 22 | MCH 13 | BRI | DAR 8 | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT 3 | CAR | ATL 25 | RSD 2 | | 29th | 1657 | |
| 1984 | Johnny Hayes Racing | 55 | Chevy | DAY 29 | RCH | CAR | ATL 1* | BRI | NWS | DAR 27 | MAR | TAL 5* | NSV | DOV | CLT 42 | RSD | POC 9 | MCH 28 | DAY 5 | NSV | POC 5 | TAL | MCH 6 | BRI | DAR 9 | RCH | DOV | MAR | CLT 2* | NWS | CAR | ATL 4 | RSD 5 | | 27th | 1865 | |
| 1985 | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | 55 | Chevy | DAY 31 | RCH | CAR | ATL 8 | BRI | DAR 32 | NWS | MAR | TAL 29 | DOV | CLT 42 | RSD | POC 6 | MCH 10 | DAY 11 | POC 6 | TAL 36 | MCH 5 | BRI | DAR 8 | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT 41 | CAR | ATL 33 | RSD | | | | 29th | 1427 | |
| 1986 | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | 55 | Olds | DAY 5 | RCH | CAR | ATL 6 | BRI | DAR 28 | NWS | MAR | TAL 20 | DOV | CLT 34 | RSD | POC 33 | MCH 41 | DAY 36 | POC 29 | TAL 5 | GLN 8 | MCH 26 | BRI | DAR 31 | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT 30 | CAR | ATL 11 | RSD 27 | | | 30th | 1555 | |
| 1987 | Hendrick Motorsports | 35 | Chevy | DAY 2 | CAR 34 | RCH 10 | ATL 2 | DAR 21 | NWS 15 | BRI 28 | MAR 26 | TAL 12 | CLT 26 | DOV 5 | POC 33 | RSD 34 | MCH 9 | DAY 35 | POC 4 | TAL 30 | GLN 5 | MCH 18 | BRI 26 | DAR 31 | RCH 16 | DOV 16 | MAR 23 | NWS 19 | CLT 38 | CAR 15 | RSD 2 | ATL 7 | | | 16th | 3215 | |
| 1988 | Donlavey Racing | 90 | Ford | DAY 31 | RCH 14 | CAR 33 | ATL 13 | DAR 34 | BRI 13 | NWS 17 | MAR 14 | TAL 24 | CLT 25 | DOV 22 | RSD 13 | POC 31 | MCH 38 | DAY 35 | POC 35 | TAL 27 | GLN 39 | MCH 15 | BRI | DAR 13 | RCH 20 | DOV 27 | MAR 20 | CLT 12 | NWS QL$^†$ | CAR 13 | PHO 8 | ATL 34 | | | 24th | 2559 | |
| $^†$ - Qualified but replaced by Jimmy Means ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

##### Daytona 500

| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
| 1969 | Russ Dawson | Ford | 11 | 7 |
| 1970 | Benny Parsons | Ford | 14 | 14 |
| 1971 | DeWitt Racing | Ford | 12 | 35 |
| 1972 | DeWitt Racing | Mercury | 33 | 4 |
| 1973 | DeWitt Racing | Chevrolet | 13 | 30 |
| 1974 | DeWitt Racing | Chevrolet | 10 | 22 |
| 1975 | DeWitt Racing | Chevrolet | 32 | 1 |
| 1976 | DeWitt Racing | Chevrolet | 32 | 3 |
| 1977 | DeWitt Racing | Chevrolet | 6 | 2 |
| 1978 | DeWitt Racing | Oldsmobile | 8 | 3 |
| 1979 | M.C. Anderson Racing | Oldsmobile | 5 | 18 |
| 1980 | M.C. Anderson Racing | Oldsmobile | 14 | 5 |
| 1981 | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 4 | 31 |
| 1982 | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Pontiac | 1 | 26 |
| 1983 | Johnny Hayes Racing | Buick | 14 | 42 |
| 1984 | Johnny Hayes Racing | Chevrolet | 8 | 29 |
| 1985 | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | 31 |
| 1986 | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 31 | 5 |
| 1987 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 | 2 |
| 1988 | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 42 | 31 |

### International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
International Race of Champions results :
| Year | Make | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Pts |
| 1975–76 | Chevy | | | | MCH 4 | RSD 5 | RSD 9 | DAY 1 | 3rd | NA |
| 1977–78 | Chevy | | | | MCH 9 | RSD 9 | RSD 8 | DAY 5 | 7th | NA |
| 1978–79 | Chevy | MCH 6 | MCH | RSD | RSD | ATL | | | NA | 0 |
| 1979–80 | Chevy | MCH 6 | MCH | RSD | RSD | ATL | | | NA | 0 |
| 1984 | Chevy | | | | MCH 2 | CLE 4 | TAL 5 | MCH 7 | 4th | 47 |

## Broadcasting career

Parsons began announcing as a pit reporter in the 1980s on ESPN and TBS while he was still racing part-time. After permanently retiring from racing in 1988, Parsons became a broadcaster – first on ESPN, and then with NBC and TNT in 2001. He received an ESPN Emmy in 1996, and the ACE Award in 1989. He appears in the videogames NASCAR '99, NASCAR 2000, and NASCAR 2001 as a commentator as well as an unlockable legend (he was only featured in NASCAR 2001 as an announcer). He later appeared in NASCAR Rumble as a legend in the game as well as NASCAR Thunder 2002, NASCAR Thunder 2003, and NASCAR Thunder 2004 as an unlockable driver and featured the game in NBC and TNT telecasts where Parsons did EA Sports Thunder Motion where he took viewers on a virtual ride of each track.
Parsons co-hosted coverage of Winston Cup Qualifying on North Carolina radio station WFMX with Mark Garrow in the early '90s. He continued to co-host a radio program called "Fast Talk" on Performance Racing Network (PRN) with Doug Rice until his death (he was replaced by an alternating host). He also had a podcast available on iTunes, in conjunction with CNN called The CNN Radio Racing Report with Benny Parsons.
Parsons appeared as himself in the 1995 children's video "NASCAR For Kids - A Day At The Races,” acting as the host.
In 2005, Parsons made a cameo appearance as himself in the movie Herbie: Fully Loaded. In 2006, he again appeared as himself in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

## Personal life

Parsons married twice, with his first wife Connie they had two sons Kevin and Keith and married till Connie's death in June 1991. Parsons married Terri but they would not have kids together.

## Illness and death

Parsons began having trouble breathing in the summer of 2006. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. He announced in October 2006 that the treatment had been successful, and that he had a clean bill of health. Parsons had stopped smoking in 1978, the treatment cost Parsons the use of his left lung.
His health prevented him from attending a ceremony in November 2006 where he was to be presented with the Myers Brothers Award, honoring his contributions to racing.
On December 26, 2006, Parsons was readmitted to the hospital and placed in intensive care because of complications relating to lung cancer. Doctors would find a blood clot in his right lung.
On January 16, 2007, Parsons died of complications from lung cancer treatment in the intensive care unit of the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is buried near his childhood home in Purlear, North Carolina, which is now the site of Benny Parsons' Rendezvous Ridge. Rendezvous Ridge is also his wife Terri's residence as well as being a racing museum and a winery.