Remembering Parnelli Jones: Mustang And Bronco Lose A Ford Racing Legend

Parnelli Jones, 1970 Mustang Trans-Am champion and Bronco off-road racing legend, crossed the final checkered flag on June 4, 2024, at age 90 after a long illness.

Born Rufus Parnell Jones on August 12, 1933, the future championship driver became known as “Parnelli” when, at age 17, he used an adaptation of his middle name to hide his identity to cover up the fact that he wasn’t old enough to race. Growing up in the hot-rod culture of southern California, Jones had quickly shifted from riding horses to driving hopped-up Ford Model Ts and coupes before taking his driving passion to “jalopy races” at nearby Carrell Speedway in 1952. From there, he moved into sprint-car racing, earning the California Racing Association’s Rookie of the Year honors in 1958 before taking his hard-charging, flat-out racing style to the sprint car hot-bed of the Midwest where he won the United States Auto Club’s Midwest championship in 1960 and earned USAC’s National title in 1961.

Jones’ USAC success put him on the fast-track to the Indianapolis 500. He claimed co-Rookie of the Year honors in 1961, set a new qualifying record and led much of 1962 race, and finally scored his first Indy 500 victory in 1963. With his reputation secured, Jones became a “gun for hire” and drove for whoever employed his skills for stock car, sprint car, Indy car, and sports car competition. Notably, he piloted a Bill Stroppe-prepared Mercury Marauder to the USAC stock car championship at the 1963 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

In 1967, Jones became part of the new SCCA Trans-Am series when Mercury put him in the driver’s seat of a Bud Moore Engineering Cougar. Two years later, Jones was recruited for Ford’s 1969 Trans-Am effort with new Boss 302 Mustangs, two of them prepared by Moore and driven by Jones and George Follmer. During the 1970 season with Jones driving number 15 and Follmer in number 16, the School Bus Yellow Mustangs won six of the season’s 11 races -- five by Jones – to secure the 1970 Trans-Am title at the next-to-last race. With the championship in hand, the Mustang team headed to the final race at Riverside, one that Jones later described as “my best race ever.” After qualifying on the pole and leading the early laps, Jones was shunted off-course by a back-marker, sending the number 15 Mustang to the back of the pack. Even with his Boss 302 badly battered and smoking, Jones ran his fastest lap of the day during a relentless charge to the front. With 10 laps to go, Jones passed teammate Follmer for the win. Thanks to Parnelli Jones, Mustang’s total domination of the 1970 Trans-Am season was complete.