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Author Topic: RIP Raymond Parks 96, owner of NASCAR's first championship winning car  (Read 4888 times)
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Nut44x4
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« on: June 23, 2010, 03:13:52 PM »

ATLANTA (AP) - Raymond Parks, owner of NASCAR's first championship winning car and an integral part of the series' formation, has died. He was 96.

NASCAR said Parks passed away at his home Sunday morning in Atlanta. Parks, who was confined to a wheelchair, attended a reception May 20 for the induction of the inaugural Hall of Fame class and was warmly received throughout the industry that evening.

"It was good for the industry and so many current fans to see the man in person," NASCAR president Mike Helton said at Infineon Raceway, site of Sunday's race. Helton called Parks "the heart and soul or the spirit that got NASCAR started."

Parks was the last living member of the group of men who created NASCAR in 1947 during a meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla. He fielded the car that Red Byron drove to the inaugural Cup Series championship in 1949, NASCAR's first season of competition.

"Raymond was instrumental in the creation of NASCAR as a participant in the historic meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach," NASCAR chairman Brian France said. "Raymond is a giant in the history of NASCAR and will always be remembered for his dedication to NASCAR."

Born in Dawsonville, Ga., in 1914, Parks left home when he was 14 years old and began running moonshine, which earned him a nine-month stint in the federal penitentiary in Chillicothe, Ohio, from 1936 to 1937 on conspiracy charges.

Parks later became a legitimate businessman, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II as part of the 99th Infantry Division.

His business success was built through real estate ventures, vending machines, gas stations and convenience stores, and some of his properties were later sold to Georgia Tech.

His NASCAR career began as owner of the first elite race team, which was built with mechanic Red Vogt and Byron behind the wheel. His teams ran only four seasons in the Cup Series - 1949, 1950, 1954 and 1955 - getting two wins, 11 top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 18 events.

Parks at times fielded cars for Fonty Flock and Curtis Turner before eventually pulling out of the sport.

The Hall of Fame, which opened last month, features several of Parks' donated trophies.

"I'm proud of my involvement in NASCAR over the years and with the opportunity to partner with the NASCAR Hall of Fame," Parks said in a statement when he donated his collection last year.

Parks was not among the inaugural five members inducted into the Hall of Fame last month.

"It would have been really nice if he had lived until he had gone into the Hall of Fame," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "His contribution to this sport was so, so great that would have been really cool for that to have happened."

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bangordailynews/obituary.aspx?n=raymond-parks&pid=143698767
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Nut44x4
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RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2010, 03:14:47 PM »

Parks was hometown boy who made good
By Wayne Knuckles
Published:
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 10:50 AM EDT
Raymond Parks did a lot of living in his 96 years on this old earth.

A native of Dawsonville, Mr. Parks died Sunday, and the world took immediate note, from obituary notices in The Washington Post and other national publications, to a lengthy and well-written tribute published on ESPN.com by well-known sportswriter Ed Hinton.

Not bad for an old mountain boy, whose passing would probably have gone unnoticed had it not been for a series of stories about him that were published in the mid-90's as NASCAR celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Mr. Parks, for those who do not know, was the last surviving member of a group of men who created NASCAR in 1947 during a meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Fla.

It has been said that NASCAR would not have survived to become one of the most popular sports in the country had it not been for Mr. Parks' support and cash back in the early days.

Sadly, Mr. Parks did not make it into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in his lifetime, though he's almost certain to be honored in the next balloting cycle.

He was, however, honored one last time in his home town last fall, when the Dawson News & Advertiser helped put together a special “Raymond Parks Day.”

That's where I met him, for the first and only time. Though I recall it was a sweltering hot summer day, Mr. Parks, immaculately dressed in one of his trademark three-piece suits and snap brim hats, appeared as cool as a cucumber.

I had hoped to hear some of the extraordinary tales of his nearly full century of living, which included running moonshine as a teenager, becoming a successful businessman and survivor of the Battle of the Bulge as an infantryman in World War II, where he once spent three straight weeks in the same foxhole.

I'd hoped to hear first-hand accounts of some of the legendary personalities Mr. Parks knew well that I had only read about, Red Vogt, Roy Hall, Lloyd Seay, Bill France Sr., and others.

But age was beginning to catch up with Mr. Parks by the time I had the chance to meet him. He was largely deaf, so there was no asking questions to satisfy my own curiosity, but it was obvious he was enjoying the festivities that go with being honored by your hometown.

I do, however, have, and plan to keep, an autographed card Mr. Parks was handing out that day. “Raymond D. Parks, Car # 7-14-22” is says in his distinctive scrawl. I don't know how many of these cards he gave out that day, but it must have taken him a lot of time and effort to personally inscribe each one.

Plenty of folks around Dawsonville have told me that Mr. Parks did a lot for his home folks over the years, and never sought recognition for it.

It was good he lived to be honored by the folks who meant the most to him.

And you just know that somewhere in the Great Beyond, the likes of Fonty Flock, Roy Hall and Dale Earnhardt were very happy to greet an old friend once again on Sunday.
http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/articles/2010/06/23/editorial/editorial.txt
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RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2010, 03:15:47 PM »


Mr. Parks (right) with Red Byron. Parks fielded the car that Byron drove to the inaugural Cup Series championship in 1949. (Associated Press/File 1950)
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/autoracing/articles/2010/06/21/raymond_parks_96_owned_nascars_first_winning_car/
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Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware/Of giving your heart to a dog to tear  -- Rudyard Kipling

One who doesn't trust is never deceived...

'I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind' -Edgar Allen Poe
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