Originally published on Field Level Media | Last updated: 6/5/24
Parnelli Jones, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1963, died Tuesday in Torrance, California. He was ninety.
“The racing world has lost a great competitor and a true champion,” said Roger Penske, the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Parnelli Jones was one of the most accomplished racers in history, and his determination and will to win made him one of the most formidable rivals I’ve ever seen.
“From racing against him on the track to competing against him as a fellow team owner, I’ve always admired Parnelli’s enthusiasm and dedication to the sport he loved. I was honored to call Parnelli a close friend for many years, and our thoughts are with his family as we mourn one of motorsports’ real heroes.”
Jones, an Arkansas native who was reared in Southern California, became the first driver to qualify for the Indy 500 at speeds greater than 150 mph. According to the IndyCar series, he is also the only driver who has led the race twice for 400 or more kilometers.
He competed in seven Indianapolis 500 races and led for 171 of the first 196 laps in 1967, when a ball bearing broke three laps from the finish.
Jones retired as an Indy car driver in 1968 at the age of 34, but he co-owned the team that won the Indy 500 in 1970 and 1971 with Al Unser at the wheel.
He also drove in other disciplines, notably the NASCAR Cup Series until 1970, when he won four times. His only NASCAR victory came on January 22, 1967, in the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside International Raceway.
His team, Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, also competed in Formula One, the Sports Car Club of America’s Formula 5000 road racing championship, and the USAC Dirt Car series.
Jones, however, believes that his win in Indianapolis 61 years ago characterized his career.
“The thing about Indianapolis is that it gives you a title for all time, and it opens doors for you forever,” Jones told Motorsport.com back in 2016. “I won a number of races in various cars — sprint cars, midgets, stock cars, and the Baja 1000, as many of us did back then. Even so, I’m introduced as the victor of the 1963 Indianapolis 500. That’s the status this location grants you.”
