Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/857677
2 6 | PULSE S u m m e r 2 0 1 7 X X X X X X X "Back in high school I had dated a girl, and her mother hated me be- cause she thought I was trouble," he says. "Her dad worked for the Tor- rance Parks and Recreation Department. When I saw him at the dinner, let's just say I felt vindicated." In a span of seven years at Indy, Jones led a total of 492 laps—almost twice that of any other driver that period. He won six additional Indy car races. He also took the USAC Stock Car Championship title in 1964. In 1967 at age 34, he attempted to win the 500 a third time. He led for the majority of the race until the transmission bearing failed with just eight miles to go. "I had the lap lead, when I starting thinking about how winning was not going to be as great as it had been the first time," he says. "It was sad to lose, but later I was thinking , 'If it's not that great of a feeling to win, what am I doing it for?'" Around that same time, Jones began testing Firestone racing tires at Indianapolis, where he became close friends with the Firestone fam- ily. He and longtime friend Vel Miletich decided to rent space at a Ford car dealership in Torrance and begin selling retail tires for Firestone Tire Company. One day while working at Vel's Ford, a petite blonde named Judy wan- dered into the dealership aer she had crashed her car. While both deny it was "love at first sight," Jones invited her to eat lunch at the dealership's café. "I didn't like her very much at first," Jones says. In spite of that, the two began to date and married the next year—his last year of racing Indy. "My future looked like it was in the tire business. It was the year I decided to get married, quit smoking and quit open-cockpit racing. I changed my whole life." Miletich and Jones would eventually buy the dealership, renaming it Vel's Ford. e tire business expanded to 47 retail Parnelli Jones Tire Centers in four states. In addition, he and Miletich founded Parnelli Jones Enterprises, a chain of Firestone Racing Tires in 14 Western United States, along with Parnelli Jones Wholesale, a reseller that sold and distributed shock absorbers, passenger car tires and other automotive products to re- tail tire dealers. Aer getting married, the Joneses moved to the Rolling Hills home where they still live today, making good on Parnelli's promise to "never live east of Denver." e birth of their sons, P.J. and Page, followed. "I spent the rest of my years with him," Judy says. To that Parnelli re- plies with a tongue-in-cheek grin, "She took the best years of my life." Judy continues, "Athletes are very focused, and he is not an easy cookie." Although the couple shares honest and good-natured jabs, something clearly holds their 50-year marriage together. According to Judy, the sim- ple secret is "having your own bathroom." Aer retiring from open-cockpit racing, Jones devoted his versatile driv- ing talent to closed-cockpit races, winning the SCCA TransAm Series and the Pike Peak Hill Climb—a race to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado. During his post-Indy years, Parnelli entered the ranks of "car entrant" with partner and longtime friend Miletich. e duo won 53 Indy races, including the 500 twice in 1970 and 1971, with a team composed of some of the biggest names in racing history. ese included Al Unser and Mario Andretti, who has referred to Jones as "the greatest driver of his era." Today many of the beautifully preserved cars from the Vel/Parnelli collection are on permanent display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Racing Capital of the World Hall of Fame Museum. As parents, the Joneses recognized the dangers of racing. Despite their best efforts to steer their sons in a different direction, the apples fell close to the tree. With access to the best mentoring and equipment, sons P.J. and Page quickly became rising stars. Judy Jones says the secret to a happy marriage is "having your own bathroom."