NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

72 days until Daytona: Remembering Benny Parsons' legacy

Published Jan. 10, 2017 2:20 p.m. ET

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Tom Jensen

We’re counting down the days until the Daytona 500, which is a little more than 10 weeks away.

In fact, it’s just 72 days until the green flag flies to start the Great American Race on Feb. 26th on FOX.

The No. 72 bears special significance in NASCAR, because it was the number carried by the late, great Benny Parsons, both when he won the Premier Series championship in 1973, and two years later when captured the victory in the Daytona 500.

Parsons won 12 races and posted 125 top-five finishes in the No. 72, which represents more than half of his career totals in both categories.

All told, Parsons won 21 Premier Series races and had 199 top fives in a driving career that ran from 1964 to 1988.

He also was the first driver in history to break the 200 mile-per-hour barrier in qualifying at Talladega, where he ran 200.176 mph in 1982.

In 1998, Parsons was named as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

After his racing days were complete, Parsons had an outstanding second career as a NASCAR broadcaster prior to his death from cancer in 2007.

On Jan. 20, 2017, Parsons will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, along with Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin and Raymond Parks. Parsons was enormously popular with race fans and one of the sport’s true greats.

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