Waid’s World: How Cup Sponsor Woes Caused an Unlikely, Popular 1975 Daytona 500 Winner

The 1975 NASCAR Cup Series season seemed to be yet another one destined to reap the benefits of the sanctioning body’s association with the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which had provided a new, vital lifeline to stock car racing.

In 1971, RJR fueled NASCAR with the funds needed to create a new league, complete with vastly increased purse money and an innovative, financially-rewarding point system.

It was called the Winston Cup Circuit and it rescued NASCAR from an uncertain future. At the time, factory support for stock car racing – which came in the forms of financial support, sponsorship and hands-on technical expertise – dissolved.

Detroit simply didn’t think the return on its increasing dollars, meaning car sales, was adequate.

So, NASCAR and its teams were left in a crisis that wasn’t resolved until the entry of RJR.

Four years later, everything seemed even better. The point fund had increased to its highest amount ever and teams had experienced three years of relative financial stability. And to be honest, some of the more successful organizations were still receiving factory support – quietly, of course.

However, before the 1975 season got underway, another financial problem arose.

As much as the teams relied on point money to subsist, individual sponsorship was still critical. Without funding from outside entities, being competitive was virtually impossible.

Perhaps corporate America felt being involved in NASCAR was no longer financially practical, or maybe it was just too expensive. It didn’t help matters that the cost of racing had increased appreciably since 1971.

No matter. Some of the most successful and well-known NASCAR teams found themselves short of money. That translated into drained competitiveness.

If teams couldn’t show a profit at the end of the year, they could not exist.

Many teams and owners, such as Holman-Moody, Cotton Owens, Ray Fox and Banjo Matthews were no longer in operation by 1975. The independent teams, which had never enjoyed factory participation, almost completely vanished.

NASCAR stepped in and created what was eventually known as “plan money.”

It started with what was called “The Awards and Achievement Plan,” which gave four selected top teams – Petty Enterprises, Junior Johnson and Associates, K&K Racing and Bud Moore Engineering – appearance money in the form of $2,000 for each short track race and $3,000 for each superspeedway event.

The few surviving independent teams, which were in the process of staging a revolution in the form of a NASCAR boycott, also received bonus money. It could amount to thousands if the teams attempted to qualify for every race.

Additionally, track promoters, who paid the plan money and were reimbursed by NASCAR, took it upon themselves to pay additional appearance money or locate sponsorship for selected teams.

All of this seemed to resolve the situation, although it wasn’t universally popular. 

However, what was very popular was a small team that employed a friendly, unassuming driver and had dramatically won the 1973 Winston Cup championship.

Benny Parsons, who lived in the hamlet of Ellerbe, N.C., drove for a team owned by trucking magnate L.G. DeWitt, who was also a founder and president of Rockingham Speedway.

Parsons and his low-profile team, which benefitted from the talents of young mechanic Travis Carter, found themselves in contention for the ‘73 championship.

In an oft-told story, they won the title at Rockingham in the fall of the year after a dramatic, improbable recovery from an early-race wreck.

Parsons would not have been the champion had not a remarkable series of events taken place.

A horde of crewmen from other teams rushed to his assistance, literally rebuilding his car with parts and pieces hijacked from cars that had failed to make the race or had crashed out of it. Parsons’ “rolling wreck” re-entered the race with 136 laps remaining and finished 28th. That was enough to win the title by 67.15 points over Cale Yarborough, Johnson’s driver.

What was most significant about that championship was Parsons’ obvious, widespread popularity. It is hard to imagine members of other teams coming to the assistance of any driver not as fondly regarded.

For Parsons, nothing had changed as the 1975 season rolled into the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s showcase event.

If anything, Parsons’ popularity had grown. Fans regarded him as a friendly, pleasant sort, as did his fellow competitors. He was always cooperative with the media, and several members whom he called by their first names.

His nickname was “Mr. Nice Guy.” And it fit.

So, the buzz during preparation and practice for the Daytona 500 was that Parsons’ Chevrolet was fast – perhaps fast enough to win.

Richard Petty, the dominant driver at Daytona International Speedway, noticed the smile on Parsons’ face after a day of practice and asked: “Is this your year, Ben?”

Turns out it was, although ironically with Petty’s help.

After many accidents and incidents that eliminated several challengers, Parsons found himself running second to David Pearson, 5.2 seconds in arrears. Along came Petty, who signaled Parsons to lock onto his rear and gain needed momentum in the draft – the aerodynamic phenomenon that allowed a tailgating car to go faster than it otherwise would.

Behind Pearson by 2.1 seconds to go, fate was, again, kind to Parsons. Trapped between Yarborough and Richie Panch, Pearson received a jolt that sent his Wood Brothers Mercury spinning into the infield. That left the door wide open for Parsons, who went on to win by more than a lap over Bobby Allison.

“This is even greater than the championship of 1973,” said an excited Parsons afterward. “I never would have achieved this if not for Richard. He could have ignored me or backed out. Instead, he waved me on.”

Asked if his cooperation would have been given to any driver, Petty smiled and said, “Reckon you do what you can for drivers you like – or deserve it.”

Parsons’ Daytona 500 victory ranks as one of the most improbable and popular in the race’s history. It flew in the face of the adage, “Nice guys finish last.”

Parsons drove for DeWitt for 10 seasons, during which he won 14 races. After he retired from racing in 1988, he went on to become a member of the media via television.

That is how many fans recognize and remember him today. And it must be said that in this role, Parsons was as popular as he ever was as a competitor. He never stopped being “Mr. Nice Guy.”