The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance has announced that motorsports icon Parnelli Jones will be the honoree for the 13th Annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance scheduled for March 7–9, 2008, at The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach. Jones’s career spanned many types of racing, including sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, midget racers, stock cars, and off-road competition, a form he helped to popularize in the ’60s.
“When one talks about versatile racecar drivers, the name Parnelli Jones is right at the top of the list for most people,” says Bill Warner, Concours founder and chairman. “We’re thrilled to have him at our event. He was a champion in Indy, Trans-Am, sprint cars, stock cars, USRRC, and off-road racing. There aren’t many drivers who can claim that kind of record.”
In addition, Trans-Am cars will be featured and the Concours’ popular seminar series continues in 2008 with a lineup of drivers who participated in the horsepower-crazy Trans-Am road racing series of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Concours honoree Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney (2002 honoree), George Follmer, Sam Posey, and John Morton, the series’ under-2.5-liter champion, are scheduled to be on hand Saturday, March 8th, during Concours weekend to tell about their experiences.
“We are looking forward to another incredible gathering of drivers,” said Warner. “America’s best road racers were in Trans-Am—Mark Donohue, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Sam Posey, and George Follmer, who was the 1972 champion. They weren’t afraid to mix it up and ‘trading paint’ was pretty common. The spectators really loved it and the manufacturers had the perfect stage to compete head to head. It should be standing room only again!”
For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org or contact them at 904-636-0027.
