Individual Details

Death

Auto Racing Pioneer. He began running moonshine when he was 14, was caught, convicted and imprisoned, serving nine months of a 12 month sentence in 1936 and 1937. After his release Parks became a successful stock car racer and went into several businesses. He enlisted for World War II and fought in Europe as a member of the 99th Infantry Division. He returned to his businesses after the war, becoming wealthy through ventures in real estate, vending machines, gas stations and convenience stores. In 1947 he, Bill France, Sr. and others took part in a meeting at Daytona Beach's Streamline Hotel at which the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) was founded. In 1949, the new organization's first season, he was the team owner for the car that Red Byron drove to the inaugural championship in NASCAR's top tier, now known as the Sprint Cup Series. Parks also fielded cars for drivers Lloyd Seay, Fonty Flock and Curtis Turner before deciding to curtail his participation in racing, scoring in NASCAR two wins, 11 top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 18 events over four seasons (1949, 1950, 1954 and 1955). He was the last living member of the group that created NASCAR. Parks was one of eight drivers inducted in the first class of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2002, and he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009. Parks was a finalist for induction into NASCAR's Hall of Fame when it opened in 2010, and many of his trophies and other racing memorabilia are on display there.