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Note:  I actually wrote the this scheduled post on Monday night, to be posted this morning. That was before we heard Tuesday’s news that we had lost the great Parnelli Jones at the age of 90.

We had all heard that Parnelli was not in good health for the past few years. At that age, it should not come as a shock that they have passed away. But for me, it was.

When I was growing up in the 60s and attended my first Indianapolis 500 in 1965, my favorite driver was Parnelli Jones. Granted, I was only five when I decided he was who I would pull for. My father and brothers had just returned from the 1964 race. Not only did they have tons of stories, but they brought back the race program. I devoured it.

Throughout the program were pictures of the previous year’s winner, Parnelli Jones, and his car Ol’ Calhoun. I thought he had the coolest sounding name and the prettiest car. That was the basis of my fandom. That, and I had to be different. My father and brothers were pure Foyt fans. I needed my own driver, and it was Parnelli.

He finished second to Jim Clark in my first 500. Two years later, he was driving Silent Sam – the Andy Granatelli STP turbine car. When he dropped out with three laps to go, and Foyt won the race, I was bummed. As it turned out, that was Parnelli’s last 500. When he retired, my driver allegiance shifted over to Foyt, where it has been ever since – but I never forgot my first favorite, Parnelli Jones.

As I insert myself into this, you cannot imagine how thrilled I was on Carb Day of 2018. Susan, Paul Dalbey and myself were having lunch at Honda Hospitality, when I heard a soft voice ask “Do you mind if I join you?” It was Parnelli Jones. I felt like I was in the presence of royalty, partly because I was – racing royalty. He was walking slowly, but the mind was all there. I was star-struck as I recounted some of the things to him that I had read in his latest book. He was gracious and seemed humbled that we knew all about him. It was a day I’ll never forget. Thanks to Paul for sneaking this photo, something that I will cherish always.

We are losing our legends way too quickly now. Just in the past few years, we’ve lost Dan Gurney, Bobby Unser, Al Unser and now Parnelli Jones. AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti are the two biggest names left. I am hopeful that we can have them around to appreciate for a few more years, but life promises nothing.

It seems rather callous or disrespectful to post such a lighthearted article on such a somber day. Part of me thinks I should just delete it, but life does go on. It’s probably the wrong thing to do, but maybe we need something a little lighthearted today. Rest in peace, Mr. Jones. – GP

Tomorrow, we are headed up to Road America – one of our favorite spots in the world. For us, the state of Wisconsin represents three things – great racing, great food and great beer.

Beer can be the cornerstone for a lot of fun times. To say “let’s go get a beer”, doesn’t necessarily mean “Hey, let’s go get drunk”. It can, but to me it means let’s go and have some fellowship and a good time.

My big drinking days are long behind me. I never, ever had a drinking problem; but in my younger days I could hold my own with the best of them. Somewhere in my forties, it occurred to me that I felt a lot better when I didn’t drink the night before. Last week when we were in Indianapolis for Race Weekend, we were there for four nights over a celebratory weekend and I never touched a drop of alcohol. I didn’t make a conscious effort to avoid it, I just never really had the desire.

That will change this weekend when we are in Wisconsin. New Glarus Brewing Company is located in New Glarus, Wisconsin – a tiny village near the Illinois state line. New Glarus Brewing is known for some delicious beers. Probably their most famous is Spotted Cow. While I love me some Spotted Cow, my favorite beer of theirs is Totally Naked. Before you get the image of me running around in the buff, burned into your brain, Totally Naked gets it’s name for being stripped of any artificial ingredients, preservatives or crazy flavors (like pumpkin). It is just beer. Clean, crisp beer. It is one of their seasonal beers, but it is always in season around Road America, so I always stock up on it. There is one thing about any of the New Glarus beers – they do not sell anywhere out of the state of Wisconsin. So we always bring back a pretty good haul each year.

So much for the local beer lesson. Getting back to the term Let’s go get a beer, I got to thinking – which IndyCar personality would I like to go get a beer with? I am going to limit this to those that are living, because there are so many from those no longer with us that would’ve been a blast to go share a beer or two. Bobby Unser comes to mind. Although Robin Miller did not drink, I could certainly see having a beer with him, while he nursed a Pepsi.

But there are some characters still around today that I would love to spend one night sitting at a bar with. They can be current drivers, former drivers or just someone somehow related to IndyCar. In no particular order, they are as follows…

Will Power: The driver from Toowoomba, Australia, appears to be one of the quirkiest drivers in the paddock and perhaps the funniest. It runs in the family, as his brother is a stand-up comedian in Australia. While he doesn’t sit and tell jokes all day, he has a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor, which I appreciate. Even though he is a two-time IndyCar champion and an Indianapolis 500 winner; he does not seem to take himself too seriously at all. I think he would be a hoot to go turn up a few beers with. We would probably talk a lot of racing, but the conversation would also veer off to some very strange tangents. It would probably be an unforgettable time.

Scott McLaughlin: Although Power’s fellow Team Penske driver is not as accomplished as Power, McLaughlin still falls in the category of not taking himself too seriously. I know from attending his press conferences after practice sessions, qualifying and races how funny he is. You never quite no what to expect to come out of his mouth, but it will usually be funny.

Alexander Rossi: Some may be surprised at this choice, because Rossi’s demeanor comes off as a lot more somber and serious. If that’s what you think, you have never listened to his podcast with James Hinchcliffe. I thought Will Power had a dry sense of humor, until Rossi came on the scene. Rossi will say something that sounds a little off the wall, and about five minutes later it hits you what he really meant. He is highly intelligent and does not suffer fools easily. But I think if you can ever crack that stoic exterior, he would be fascinating to sit at a bar with some nght.

Graham Rahal: The second generation driver seems to be a fun-loving guy. Before he settled down and became a family man, there was a saying going around; It’s good to be Graham. He lived life large. He had expensive toys, traveled to exotic locales, and had a string of stunningly beautiful girlfriends. Besides leading an enviable lifestyle, Graham Rahal always spoke his mind. If you are looking for corporate sound bites, don’t go to Graham. If you want the unfiltered truth, Graham Rahal is your guy. Like Rossi, Rahal won’t dance around an issue and say a lot of pleasantries. He will be brutally honest. I think it would be an eye-opening night to go to a bar with Graham Rahal.

Callum Ilott: Some have said that Callum Ilott has no personality. If that’s what you think, you haven’t been paying attention. Like Rahal, Ilott can be brutally honest – just ask his former team and teammate, Agustin Canapino of Juncos Hollinger Racing. I think Ilott’s brutal honesty is what paved the way for his exit long after the season ended last year.

I can’t speak to what kind of a teammate he is, and he is too young to have many stories to tell at a bar – but I think he would be fun to sit and listen to one night while sharing a couple of beers.

John Oreovicz: I can speak from experience on this one. The motorsports writer was the IndyCar beat writer for ESPN.com for a couple of decades; before falling victim to one of their famous purges a few years ago. He has been unfairly labeled as controversial and sometimes even a malcontent simply for speaking his mind about ways that he thinks things could improve.

I had a total of six beers during this past Month of May in Indianapolis. Five of them were with Oreovicz. Over the years, we’ve pounded down a few beers at Dawson’s, while discussing IndyCar past and present; as well as solving some of the world’s problems. We don’t always agree on things, and sometimes we vehemently disagree – but we never let it ruin our good time, and that’s the way it should be. I can assure you, the author of “Indy Split” is a fun guy to go have a beer with.

Jimmy Vasser: Like Rahal, Jimmy Vasser has lived a full life – on and off the track. Vasser has had success; winning the 1996 CART championship and the Inaugural US 500 (who needs milk?). and he has seen the lows of the sport. Like Rossi, he is not one to waste time with idle chit-chat, but I’ve heard enough about him to think he would be a fun guy to buy him a few beers and listen to him talk. It would probably be entertaining for hours.

Donald Davidson: Can you imagine Donald Davidson drunk? I can’t. I don’t even know if Donald drinks, but I’ve never heard him say that he doesn’t. If I had to guess, I’d say that Donald likes a glass of wine or two and maybe a warm stout. But I don’t think you will ever see him the least bit tipsy.

Still, I think an evening with Donald Davidson in the relaxing atmosphere of a pub, would be the right setting to make him feel comfortable enough to let loose with a bunch of stories he would never tell on the radio. We already know what a great story teller he is from his days on The Talk of Gasoline Alley. We’ve heard those same wonderful stories over and over. You know he also knows a lot of things about various drivers and owners that he would never dare tell in public. I think I could sit there all night and just listen to him talk.

Paul Page: When Sid Collins passed away in May of 1977, it was Paul Page who was his successor as The Voice of the 500. Page later moved on to the television side and was in the booth for most of the CART races throughout the season, as well as the Indianapolis 500. I’ve read his book, but I wanted more. I would be fascinated simply to listen to his unfiltered stories about Bobby Unser and Sam Posey.

Dario Franchitti: The Scottish driver first came on the scene in CART in 1997 with Carl Hogan. He then moved to Team KOOL Green, where he drove one of the nicer liveries. He was Paul Tracy’s teammate when the latter took a swing at team-owner Barry Green. He was also Tracy’s teammate, for the controversial 2002 Indianapolis 500. He then stayed with the team, when Michael Andretti bought it and moved it to the IRL for the 2003 season. He would eventually become one of the foursome with Andretti-Green Racing that was as tight-knit bunch of teammates as I’ve ever seen – Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon and Bryan Herta.

He then left AGR after winning his first IndyCar championship and Indianapolis 500 in 2007, to go drive in NASCAR for Chip Ganassi in 2008. After that did not go well, he went back to IndyCar with Ganassi, where he won three more championships and two more 500s, before injuries in a frightening 2013 crash ultimately ended his career.

Oh, and he also happened to be married to celebrity Ashley Judd through most of this time.

Given his lengthy career, his success, his experiences and his engaging personality; I think a night at the bar with Dario Franchitti would be very enlightening and entertaining.

What about you? Do you agree with this list? Did I forget someone? Who would you put on the list, and is there anyone you think I should remove?

I am sure I will never have the opportunity to share a beer with anyone on this list, but if I ever were to have the chance – I would hope it would be in Wisconsin, the land of racing, food and beer.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on June 5, 2024 at 4:04 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.