Parnelli Jones and Jim Michaelian, President/CEO of the Long Beach Grand Prix Association, introduce a new TransAm challenge, a muscle car competition for the 2018 Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. February 20, 2018 Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG
He was born Rufus Parnell Jones.
But nobody called him that – except maybe his mother.
From a young age, when Jones was growing up in Torrance, a teenage friend knew that Parnell had a crush on a girl named Nellie, so he put an “ie” on Parnell and Parnellie stayed (after removing the “e” at the end). ).
Eventually he became known to the world as Parnelli Jones, one of the biggest stars in motorsport history, who many say should be on the Mt Rushmore of racing legends alongside Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt and Dan Gurney.
At 89, he is the oldest living winner of the Indy 500, which he won in 1963. He was also known as “Mr. Versatility” for all the different cars he has raced and owned.
And although he never won the Long Beach Grand Prix, having retired from open-wheel racing before his hometown event began, he has always supported it – and been a regular competitor.
But due to health issues related to Parkinson’s disease and advancing age, Jones will not compete in this year’s Long Beach Acura Grand Prix, which runs Friday-Sunday, April 14-16. Instead, he will be watching the race on TV from his longtime home in Rolling Hills, he said in a phone interview last week.
“Parnelli has truly made a significant contribution to the racing world over the years and is a huge supporter of the Long Beach Grand Prix,” said Jim Michaelian, President and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach last week. “We will miss him this year.”
It’s hard to imagine that one of motorsport’s greatest drivers and fiercest competitors would no longer drive his own car.
“I stopped driving about three years ago,” he said. “I miss it, but there are some things I just can’t do.”
Jones has been involved with the Grand Prix since its inception. Jones and his business partner Velko “Vet” Miletich co-owned Vels Parnelli Jones Racing Team for the inaugural Formula 5000 race at Long Beach on September 28, 1975. Their team consisted of powerhouse drivers Mario Andretti and Al Unser Sr. The inaugural race was run by Brian Redman won, with Andretti finishing 13th and Unser 20th.
These famous racing names were invaluable in launching the fledgling Long Beach race and eventually becoming the premier auto road race in the United States.
“There is no question that Parnelli played an important role in the early years of the Long Beach Grand Prix,” said Michaelian.
Later in his career, Jones also competed in several pro celebrity races related to the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend.
“His races with Dan Gurney were legendary,” said Michaelian.
Jones was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsport Walk of Fame in 2008.
Jones was born on August 12, 1933 in Texarkana, Arkansas. But when he was 2 years old, in the middle of the Great Depression, his family moved to Torrance for a better life.
His first means of transport as a teenager was a horse, which he kept at a nearby dairy farm. But he sold the horse to buy something that spoke more to racing in his blood – a hot rod car.
He dropped out of Torrance High and looked for races to compete in.
There was a catch, however: he was a minor, and the legal age to enter the race was 18.
But he wanted to race. So at 17, under his new name Parnelli, he lied about his age and entered his first competition, a car race at the now-defunct Carrell Speedway in Gardena.
That led to more shaky races and then a big step up when he started racing and winning in NASCAR and open wheel cars in the 1950s. According to an article in Mecum Magazine, Jones traveled the circuit in a station wagon with his sidekick Jim Hurtubise early in his racing career.
They took turns driving and slept in the back of the station wagon. Jones’ wife Judy said it was that kind of determination that led her husband to so much success in his racing career.
Jones’ first race at the Indianapolis 500 was in 1961, when he was named co-rookie of the year with Bobby Marshman. He was leading in that race but was hit by a rock or a piece of metal, bleeding his face and slowing him down to 12th place.
In 1962 he was the first driver to qualify at the Indy 500 at more than 150 mph, but in the race itself he finished seventh.
Eventually, Jones won the 1963 Indy 500 and overcame an oil leak that threatened to disqualify him.
In 1967 he led the race but retired with three laps to go when a small gearbox bearing broke. This would be Jones’ last Indy 500 as a driver and his last race in an open cockpit car.
However, he continued to race stock cars and off-road cars, winning the Baja 1000 twice, the Baja 500 twice, and the Mint 400 once. He considered these cars to be safer than the open cockpit cars.
He married Judy on July 15, 1967. They have two sons, PJ, who is a racing driver, and Page, who was a racing driver but was injured in an accident and no longer drives. PJ also has a son, Jagger, who is also a racing driver.
Having a family played a role in Jones’ desire to race in safer vehicles. That was 55 years ago.
“Best decision I’ve ever made,” Jones said during the interview. “Living with Judy has been the best years of my life.”
For her part, Judy will compete in this year’s Grand Prix with Page and his daughter Joie, as well as family friend Iggy Estrada.
Jones retired from racing for good in 1974 but continued his prodigious motorsport career as a team owner and businessman. He owned and operated several successful businesses including Parnelli Jones Tire Centers, a chain of Firestone Racing Tires and several wheel manufacturers.
Jones said he will miss not going to the Long Beach Acura Grand Prix this year.
“I love the Long Beach Grand Prix,” he said. “It’s in my backyard, about half an hour from my house
“The Grand Prix is great for Long Beach and racing,” added Jones. “The Indy 500 has the largest attendance, but Long Beach has the second largest. I’ve been behind the Long Beach Grand Prix since the beginning. I hope it goes on forever.”