Cancer claims auto champion Benny Parsons

Benny Parsons made a career of beating the odds, rising from a childhood of poverty in the North Carolina foothills to a job as a Detroit cabbie, and eventually becoming a NASCAR champion.

When his lung cancer was diagnosed, Mr. Parsons had every reason to believe he would beat that, too. But despite a battle that saw "BP" carrying an oxygen tank around the racetrack, Mr. Parsons couldn't win this fight.

He died yesterday in Charlotte, N.C., where he had been hospitalized since Dec. 26 because of complications from his treatment. He was 65.

The 1973 NASCAR champion, Mr. Parsons was a member of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers and a lovable fixture at the track. He won 21 races, including the 1975 Daytona 500, and 20 poles. He was the first NASCAR competitor to qualify for a race at faster than 200 m.p.h., going 200.176 at the 1982 Winston 500 at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

He retired from racing in 1988 and entered broadcasting, where his folksy style and straight-shooting manner endeared him to fans and drivers. Sometimes referred to as "The Professor" because of his relaxed ability to deliver information, Mr. Parsons spent the last six years as an NBC and TNT commentator and continued to call races from the booth during his treatment.

"When you talked to him, he brought out the human element," said Michael Waltrip, who tested this week at Daytona International Speedway in a car that had "We Love You, BP" painted on the side.

"The cars are nuts and bolts, but he talked through that," Waltrip said. "He was able to deliver to the people. He just tried to be passionate about what he believed, and he did a great job of explaining what people were seeing."

Cancer in Mr. Parsons' left lung was diagnosed in July. Mr. Parsons, who quit smoking in 1978, underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment and was declared cancer-free in October. But the treatment cost Parsons the use of his left lung, and he was hospitalized last month when doctors found a blood clot in his right lung.

Born July 12, 1941, at a rural home in Ellerbe that lacked running water and electricity, Mr. Parsons was raised by his great-grandmother near the community called Parsonsville. He eventually moved to Detroit, where he worked at a gas station and a cab company owned by his father. After winning ARCA titles in 1968 and '69, he returned to Ellerbe to become a full-time racer, often listing "taxicab driver" as his occupation on entry forms.

Survivors include his wife, Terri; sons Kevin and Keith, a former sportswriter for the Associated Press; and two granddaughters. Mr. Parsons was preceded in death by his first wife, Connie.