Several ARCA Menards Series drivers will honor two-time series champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Benny Parsons in the “ARCA Menards Series We Build Champions Salute to Benny Parsons” at the NASCAR Hall of Fame during festivities leading up this week’s General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Nearly a dozen drivers will visit with fans at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Thursday. Part of their visit will include paying their respects to the 1973 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who started his career racing in the Figure 8 division at ARCA’s home track Flat Rock Speedway, just outside of Detroit, Michigan. Parsons, who went on to win two ARCA Menards Series championships in 1968 and 1969, also won the 1975 Daytona 500 and worked numerous ARCA Menards Series races in his time as a broadcaster at ESPN.
“Benny reached the highest level of success you can in stock car racing and in broadcasting, yet he never forgot his roots,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “He was a NASCAR Cup Series champion, a Daytona 500 winner, and an Emmy-winning broadcaster, yet he never waivered in his support for the ARCA Menards Series and its importance in his career. The ARCA Menards Series championships he won put him on a trajectory that led directly to his Cup championship. He’s a huge part of our history and we’re proud to be able to honor him in this way while we’re in Charlotte.”
The Parsons family’s involvement in the ARCA Menards Series continues to this day. Benny’s younger brother Phil, who also started his racing career at ARCA-sanctioned short tracks and is an ARCA Menards Series winner, is a member of the series’ FS1 broadcast team, a role he has filled since 2003. Phil Parsons will be in the TV booth alongside Jamie Little and Trevor Bayne for the General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway live on FS1 Friday night at 6 pm ET.
Drivers who have indicated they will participate in the ARCA Menards Series We Build Champions Salute to Benny Parsons include current series championship points leader Andres Perez, 2023 Daytona ARCA 200 winner and current runner-up in the standings Greg Van Alst, and championship contenders Lavar Scott, Amber Balcaen, and Christian Rose. They are scheduled to be joined by Alex Clubb, Cody Dennison, Zachary Tinkle, Caleb Costner, Presley Sorah and Mitch Gibson. The drivers will spend time with NASCAR Hall of Fame annual membership holders from 3 – 5 pm ET on Thursday, May 23; they will participate in sim races and pit stop simulations as well as an autograph and selfie session in the museum.
ARCA PR
