BENNY PARSONS: Reaction to his passing

I thought this sad news might be coming when news circulated several days ago that BP was in intensive care from the complications of fighting his lung cancer.

I didn't know him and had only been introduced a few times, but I'd seen him operate in the Media Room and in the garage. It was clear that he was the same friendly, well-liked person when the cameras were off.

Here are some of the links and comments that came out yesterday following BP's passing.

The story at NASCAR.com

MARK MARTIN: “Benny has been a friend to me for over 30 years. He was a friend to me behind the scenes, as well as a neighbor. He gave advice to me 30 years ago about a NASCAR career and he was a great friend to me ever since then. It’s a big loss to NASCAR. I can remember last fall him calling me, and the excitement in his voice, telling me he was cancer free. I think that makes it so much more disappointing to all of us, because we thought he was in the clear. He wasn’t just a great driver and a great champion and a great TV personality, but he was a great person and a really fun person to be around, and he will be missed.”

DARRELL WALTRIP: "Benny Parsons was the kindest, sweetest, most considerate person I have ever known," said Darrell Waltrip. "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.
Some of my fondest memories in racing were racing Benny. In the Coca Cola 600, we had a whale of a battle and it was one of the best races ever held at Charlotte.
One of the funniest was in the 1981, Bud Shootout. I passed Benny on the apron at the start-finish line to win the race. Benny said 'you can’t do that!' I said, 'I didn’t see any out-of-bounds markers!' You sure couldn’t do that today.
Benny Parsons was a great champion, a great ambassador for our sport but more than that, he was a great person. He exemplified that good guys can be winners too.
Stevie, the girls and I pray for Terri, Phil and the entire Parsons family to find the strength to get through this."

JACK ROUSH: "Everyone at Roush Racing is saddened by the passing of Benny Parsons. Benny was a great friend and supporter of Roush Racing and he will be greatly missed. He was an outstanding ambassador for NASCAR and the sport of racing who was a champion both on and off the track. On behalf of everyone at Roush Racing I want to extend my deepest sympathy to the entire Parsons family."

GREG BIFFLE: "Benny Parsons is not only the person I owe my NASCAR career to but he was a true friend to me from the day we met. I will always appreciate his friendship and what he did for me. Knowing he's not going to be there to come up and ask me how things are going when I walk into the garage at Daytona is probably the hardest thing to accept. Everytime I think about how lucky I am to have the job and the life I have, I think of BP because he's the reason I ever got this opportunity. I will miss him a lot, as we all will. BP and his family are in my thoughts and prayers."

Talladega Superspeedway President Grant Lynch : “We at Talladega Superspeedway are saddened to have received news that Benny Parsons passed away this morning. He has made a remarkable impact on motorsports first as a driver, and then as an analyst. What is most difficult to measure is the great impact he made upon those of us fortunate enough to count him as a friend. We will all miss him dearly. Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with his family at this difficult time.”

Michigan International Speedway President Roger Curtis: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of such a great champion and a larger-than-life person. Benny Parsons personified everything that was good about racing. He was a true ambassador for our sport with his words and his actions. From his days as a taxi driver in Detroit to his time as a racing champion and popular TV analyst, he exuded an infectious passion for racing that we will all miss.”