The 15th Annual Wagsdash, to be held as part of the regular Valvoline
USAC/CRA event at Ventura Raceway on October 29th, is in for a special treat
this year. It was announced this week that the 2005 Grand Marshal will be
Parnelli Jones. Parnelli?s racing feats are legendary and range from
Jalopy?s to Sprint Cars, Stock cars, Off Road cars and Indy cars.
He drove for J.C. Agajanian among others, along the way. He won in
practically every thing he raced. He won five CRA main events in the early years
and continued on to win many big events across the nation like the Indy 500 in
1963, Pikes Peak in 1963, the Riverside 500 in 1967, Laguna Seca and Baja 1000
in 1970. He won the 1962 National
Sprint Car Championship, the 1964 USAC Stock Car Championship and the 1970 Trans
Am Championship. His own Vel?s sponsored car won the Indy 500 twice with Al
Unser driving. He is in the National Midget Hall of Fame, The National
Sprint Car Hall of Fame, The International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
The Grand Marshal at the Wagsdash has traditionally come from the heroes of the
now closed Ascot Park in Gardenia, California. Names of champions like Bubby
Jones, Lealand McSpadden, Eddie Wirth, Buster Venard, Walt James, Brad
Noffsinger and Jimmy Oskie were all honored and now perhaps the most famous of
all former Ascot drivers, Parnelli Jones, will be the latest honoree. He will be
available for autographs
during the Chili Feed and afternoon activities at Ventura Raceway, starting at
noon on October 29th. The evening?s racing will include the regular USAC/CRA
show, plus the Wagsdash featuring the low buck drivers of the club. Put
the date on your calendar.
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