[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE LIFE OF BENNY PARSONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a true inspiration 
whose perseverance showed the very best of the human spirit. Yesterday, 
Benny Parsons, a NASCAR legend, passed away after a difficult battle 
with lung cancer.
  Parsons grew up in the foothills of North Carolina in Wilkes County, 
and his dedication and drive lifted him from poverty to national 
recognition. He became an inspiration to countless fans and 
individuals. He was a beloved character who brought passion to the 
sport. Today, we mourn and also celebrate the life of this beloved man 
in the 5th District of North Carolina.
  The chairman of NASCAR, Brian France, said of Benny Parsons, who was 
affectionately referred to as BP, that ``Benny Parsons was a true 
champion, both on the race track and in life. Benny loved our sport and 
the people that make it up and those people loved him. He will be 
remembered as being a great ambassador for the sport.'' Words such as 
these convey the deep admiration, respect and love of Benny and the 
effect he had on those with whom he connected.
  After leaving Wilkes County, Benny first took a job as a cab driver 
in Detroit, Michigan, before he progressed to become a NASCAR champion. 
While faced with fame and admiration, Benny never forgot his roots and 
the importance of where he came from. He was often referred to as ``The 
Professor'' after he retired from racing in 1988 and began broadcasting 
and commenting on NASCAR races for NBC, ESPN and TNT. He had an uncanny 
ability to deliver information in a relaxed and informative way for the 
last 6 years, even when he was going through the rigorous treatment for 
cancer.
  Michael Waltrip, who recently tested his car at the Daytona track, 
said of Benny, ``When you talked to him, he brought out the human 
element. The cars are nuts and bolts, but he talked through that. He 
was able to deliver to people. He just tried to be passionate about 
what he believed, and he did a great job of explaining what people were 
seeing.'' To show his admiration of Benny, Waltrip painted on the side 
of his car, ``We love you, BP.''
  Respect, admiration and inspiration among colleagues, fans and the 
public made Benny Parsons the amazing and inspirational figure that he 
was, but it was his personality that espoused all of these qualities so 
many came to admire. It was his passion and commitment to NASCAR and 
his love of the sport that made Benny such a lovable person and such a 
great inspiration. Even at his sickest moments, he had set up a Web 
blog for his fans, continually sharing his optimism that he would 
recover and that the will to fight is so important.
  Besides the inspirational spirit and the continual drive to fight any 
obstacle in front of him, Benny Parsons was quite the accomplished 
NASCAR driver. He was a member of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. He was 
the 1973 NASCAR champion and won 21 races, including the race in 1957 
at Daytona. In addition to those accomplishments, Benny was the first 
driver to be a Cup competitor, to qualify for a race over 200 miles per 
hour, driving 200.176 miles per hour at the Winston 500 at Talladega 
Superspeedway in 1982.
  Benny Parsons made 526 starts from 1964 until his retirement in 1988. 
With such an outstanding record, Benny was inducted into the 
International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994 and continued his 
passion by broadcasting from the pit and won a Cable Ace Award for best 
sports analyst on his first season in the booth.
  I think that NBC sports champion Dick Ebersol said it best about 
Benny, commenting, ``Benny was a beloved and widely respected member of 
the NASCAR community. He was a great driver and a terrific broadcaster, 
but above anything else, he was a kind and generous human being. His 
character and spirit will define how he is remembered by all of us.''
  Benny fought cancer to the end with optimism and grace, inspiring 
countless people. His compassion, generosity and charming personality 
will be missed. Benny had made North Carolina and NASCAR proud, and his 
memory will be a lasting one of inspiration and dedication.

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