Legendary Parnelli Jones Passes Away At Age 90

Multi-Time Baja 500 and 1000 winner

By Dan Sanchez

After a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, legendary racer and Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Parnelli Jones passed away at the age of 90. Jones left an indelible mark in motorsports winning many Indy Car, Baja, stock car, and Pikes Peak races throughout his memorable career. "SCORE is saddened with the loss of this off-road icon in our sport," said SCORE VP Marketing Jim Ryan. "Parnelli was instrumental in changing the dynamics of off-road motorsports with his never-ending passion of pushing the limits of technology with the Big Oly Bronco and Chevy Blazer projects." 

Jones is most noted for his early Baja 500 and 1000 wins, especially after being egged on by ORMHOF inductee Bill Stroppe, who got Jones to take on the Baja 1000 in 1967. After the experience, Jones became hooked on Baja racing and vehemently pushed to build one of the first specialized 2WD Ford Bronco to handle the rigors of the Baja. This would become the famous Big Oly. 

Over Jones's Baja racing career, he won numerous races including the 1970 and 1973 Baja 500, and the 1971 and 1972 Baja 1000. "When I was racing in Baja, I was doing it for me, and I was having fun doing it,” said Jones in an interview with SCORE Journal Magazine. "For me, racing in Baja ended up being more of a personal thing and I’ll never forget it. It’s become a major event and both the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 have played a part in my career. My only complaint is that I wish I could have won more races!”