CELEBRATION OF AUTOMOBILES May 14-15, 2011 - Indianapolis ...

honorary HEAD judge
Parnelli.
Without question one of the most iconic figures in the entire history
of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Parnelli Jones participated
in only seven 500 Mile Races and yet he laid down a series of
epic performances which placed him among the exalted.
STORY BY: DONALD DAVIDSON
While many of the leading drivers over the
years generally have refrained from publicly
naming who they feel have been the best
they ran against—behind the scenes at
least—the name of the 1963 Indianapolis
500 winner comes up with great frequency,
even from contemporaries across the ocean.
So highly rated was Parnelli by experts as a
newcomer in 1961 that he was freely tipped
by some to win even in his debut. In fact,
some went so far as to suggest that he might
well become the first driver ever to win the
“500” for three years in succession. And this
was before he had even taken a “rookie” test!
It was to be three frustrating years before
Parnelli finally won, but he clearly made his
presence known from the very beginning.
He was the first driver ever to lead in each of
his first four starts, and not only did he lead
at least some portion during five of his seven
campaigns, he ran as high as second for
many laps in the only two that he didn’t lead.
As the first driver to break the “magic”
150-mph “barrier” during qualifications, he
started from the pole position twice (both
times with one- and four-lap track records),
and he never started worse than sixth. Not
only was he the only driver to top 150 mph
Main: “Calhoun,” the A.J.
Watson–built “roadster” with
which Parnelli was first to
qualify in excess of 150 mph
in 1962, and which carried
him to victory in 1963.
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