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Johnnie Parsons
Born (1918-Template:MONTHNUMBER-04)4, 1918
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Died Template:Death date and age
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Formula One career
Nationality 25px USA American
Years 1950 - 1958

Johnnie Parsons (July 4, 1918 – September 8, 1984) was an American race car driver from Los Angeles, California who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1950.

Parsons had the dubious distinction of being the only Indianapolis 500 winner to have his name misspelled on the Borg-Warner Trophy. Silversmiths carved "Johnny" instead of "Johnnie." He had a son named Johnny who competed at Indy a dozen times.

Racing career[]

Parsons first raced in open wheel cars on the West Coast of the United States in a midget car. He won the 1942 season championship in the United Midget Association. He won 18 feature events in the abbreviated season.[1] Parsons began racing in the AAA after World War II. 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. He won the season championship that season. He also won the 1950 Indianapolis 500. He won the 1955 Turkey Night Grand Prix midget car race.

After he retired, he became the Chief Steward for the United States Automobile Club Midget division on the West Coast in the 1970s.

Awards[]

  • He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 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.[1]

Indy 500 results[]

File:Borgwarnertrophy018.JPG

Parsons' likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
1949 12 12 132.900 2 2 200 0 Running
1950 1 5 132.044 8 1 138 115 Running
1951 3 8 132.154 28 21 87 0 Magneto
1952 5 31 135.328 19 10 200 0 Running
1953 21 8 137.667 3 26 86 0 Crankshaft
1954 15 15 139.578 6 32 79 0 Stalled in pits
1955 16 27 136.809 27 21 119 0 Magneto
1956 98 6 144.144 7 4 200 16 Running
1957 18 17 140.784 21 16 195 0 Flagged
1958 45 6 144.683 6 12 200 0 Running
Totals 1504 131
Starts 10
Poles 0
Front Row 0
Wins 1
Top 5 3
Top 10 4
Retired 4

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 1 race, set 1 fastest leading lap, and finished on the podium once. He accumulated a total of 12 championship points.

Complete Formula One World Championship results[]

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1950 Wynn's Friction / Kurtis-Kraft Kurtis Kraft 1000 Offenhauser L4 GBR
MON
500
1
SUI
BEL
FRA
ITA
6th 9
1951 Wynn's Friction Proofing / Walsh Kurtis Kraft 3000 Offenhauser L4 SUI
500
Ret
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
ITA
ESP
NC 0
1952 Jim Robbins Kurtis Kraft 1000 Offenhauser L4 SUI
500
10
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
NED
ITA
NC 0
1953 Belond Equa-Flow Kurtis Kraft 500B Offenhauser L4 ARG
500
Ret
NED
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
SUI
ITA
NC 0
1954 Belond Equa-Flow / Calif. Muffler Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser L4 ARG
500
Ret
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
SUI
ITA
ESP
NC 0
1955 Trio Brass Foundry / Anderson Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser L4 ARG
MON
500
Ret
BEL
NED
GBR
ITA
NC 0
1956 J.C. Agajanian Kuzma Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG
MON
500
4
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
ITA
18th 3
1957 Sumar/Chapman Root Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser L4 ARG
MON
500
16
FRA
GBR
GER
PES
ITA
NC 0
1958 Fred Gerhardt Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser L4 ARG
MON
NED
500
12
BEL
FRA
GBR
GER
POR
ITA
MOR
NC 0

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
Awards
Preceded by:
Bill Holland
Indianapolis 500 Winner
1950
Succeeded by:
Lee Wallard
Records
Preceded by:
Juan Manuel Fangio
38 years, 331 days
(1950 Monaco GP)
Youngest Grand Prix Race
Winner

31 years, 330 days
(1950 Indianapolis 500)
Succeeded by:
JosΓ© FroilΓ‘n GonzΓ‘lez
28 years, 282 days
(1951 British GP)
Preceded by:
Juan Manuel Fangio
38 years, 331 days
(1950 Monaco GP)
Youngest driver to set
Fastest Lap in Formula One

31 years, 330 days
(1950 Indianapolis 500)
Succeeded by:
JosΓ© FroilΓ‘n GonzΓ‘lez
29 years, 338 days
(1952 Italian GP)
Preceded by:
Juan Manuel Fangio
38 years, 323 days
(1950 British GP)
Youngest Race Leader,
For at least one lap in Formula One

31 years, 330 days
(1950 Indianapolis 500)
Succeeded by:
Jimmy Davies
21 years, 285 days
(1951 Indianapolis 500)



Smallwikipedialogo.png This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Johnnie Parsons. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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