Parsons, First to Top 200 in Stock Car, Expects First All-200 Field at Talladega

Benny Parsons, who broke the 200 m.p.h. barrier in stock car racing in 1982, expects today’s Winston 500 to be the first all-200 field in NASCAR history.

“I’m not so sure that it won’t take 203 just to make the race,” said Parsons.

Sizzling speed is no stranger to the 2.66-mile high banks of Alabama International Motor Speedway.

Parsons, a former Winston Cup champion, turned in his historic lap of 201.176 at the track when he won the pole for the Winston 500 four years ago.

Last May, 18 drivers cleared the magic 200 barrier and Bill Elliott posted an all-time stock car mark of 209.398.

In February of this year, 26 cars topped 200 and 20 more were at 198 or better for the Daytona 500.

“That’s just a starting point,” said Parsons. “The way testing has been going at Talladega, if you can’t run 200, you might as well not bother showing up, and I think somebody might just go 212.”

Neil Bonnett, who was one of first stock car drivers over 200 and has been over that mark numerous times since, agreed with Parsons.

“If your car can’t run 200, then you might as well not load it on the truck to bring it to Talladega. Qualifying for this race is going to be the dangdest thing you’ve ever seen.

“It’s amazing when you realize that Benny’s 200-mph lap only was four years ago and that speed might not be good enough to make the field this time around.”

Elliott, who is off to a slow start this season after winning 11 poles and 11 races last season--including both in the Winston 500--did win the pole at Daytona with a lap over 205. But he is expected to be hard-pressed to hold his edge this week.

“Bill didn’t quite break his track record at Daytona, but that wasn’t really a very good day for qualifying,” Bonnett noted. “I look for somebody to hit 210 at Talladega.”

It was reported last week that Cale Yarborough was over 210 in testing at the track, while Elliott, Richard Petty and Geoff Bodine reportedly all have been over 209 in recent testing.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Elliott, who has yet to win a race this year and went out of Sunday’s race at Martinsville, Va., when he blew an engine for the first time since 1983. “I just hope we can get a change of luck at Talladega.

“We’re going to be pretty strong, but so are a whole lot of other guys. I don’t mind going in there this way.

“There’s a lot less pressure this time because we didn’t win Daytona and nobody’s talking to us about the million dollars this time.”

Elliott was referring to the “Winston Million,” the prize he won last year for winning three of NASCAR’s “Big Four” races--Daytona, Talladega and the Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C. The only one of the big races he failed to win was the World 600 at Charlotte, N.C.

Bodine won at Daytona and will be the man facing an extra bit of pressure here this week.

Official practice for the 500-mile race opens Wednesday.

The purse is up about $100,000 this year to $614,570, with the winner expected to earn close to $100,000.