Johnnie Woodrow Parsons'' The Talk of Gasoline Alley'' – 1070-AM WIBC, May 15, 2007 (July 4, 1918 – September 8, 1984) was an American race car driver from

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

who won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

in 1950. During his racing career, he drove for several seasons, including his AAA championship and Indianapolis 500 win, for Ed Walsh's team. Walsh was an owner of Kurtis Kraft, the leading constructor of AAA championship cars. Parsons was a charger, needing cars to race against, frequently moving from last on the grid to a win in spectacular displays of dirt track driving ability. Johnnie Parsons had the dubious distinction of being the only Indianapolis 500 winner to have his name misspelled on the

Borg-Warner Trophy The Borg-Warner Trophy is the trophy presented to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. It is named for and was commissioned by automotive supplier BorgWarner. It is permanently housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in Speedway, Indiana. ...

. The silversmith carved "Johnny" instead of "Johnnie." He had a son named

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varia ...

who competed at Indy a dozen times. In 1991, during a trophy restoration project, it was proposed to correct the spelling, albeit posthumously. However, it was decided to keep the error intact, as part of the trophy's lore.

Racing career

Parsons first raced in open wheel cars on the West Coast of the United States in a

midget car Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on mo ...

. He won the 1942 season championship in the United Midget Association. He won 18 feature events in the abbreviated season.Biography
at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Parsons began racing in the AAA after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He captured the third feature in the 1948 Night Before the 500 midget race at the 16th Street Speedway. Parsons finished second in his first Indy 500 in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. He won the season championship that season. He also won the

1950 Indianapolis 500 The 34th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1950. The event was part of the 1950 AAA National Championship Trail. It was also race 3 of 7 in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers a ...

. He won the 1955

Turkey Night Grand Prix The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving nig ...

midget car race. After he retired, he became the Chief Steward for the USAC Midget division on the West Coast in the 1970s.

Awards

*He was inducted in the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycle ...

Johnnie Parsons
at the

in 2004. *He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1984. Parsons died before receiving notification that he was selected to the hall of fame.

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Indianapolis 500 results

*Parsons initially failed to qualify for the 1957 Indianapolis 500. However, Dick Rathmann (who had qualified) was mugged the day before the race and therefore deemed unable to drive. Parsons was selected as replacement driver for the car and allowed to start from the position Dick Rathmann had qualified the car at (in later years such a driver change would see the car in question moved to the rear of the field).

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Johnnie Parsons participated in 9 World Championship races. He won one race, set one fastest leading lap, and finished on the podium once. He accumulated a total of 12 championship points. Parsons is one of only three drivers to win on his world championship début. The other two are Nino Farina, who won the first world championship racethe 1950 British Grand Prix, 17 days earlierand

Giancarlo Baghetti Giancarlo Baghetti (25 December 1934 – 27 November 1995) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Ferrari, Automobili Turismo e Sport, BRM, Brabham and Lotus teams. Baghetti is one of only three drivers to have won his first World Champio ...

, who won the

1961 French Grand Prix The 1961 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 July 1961 at Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The ...

Complete FIA World Drivers Championship results

( key) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Johnnie 1918 births 1984 deaths Champ Car champions Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners American racing drivers Racing drivers from Los Angeles AAA Championship Car drivers Formula One race winners