to - The Vel`s Parnelli Jones Racing Collection

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In the mid 1950s, Torrance, California Ford dealer
Vel Miletich had a vision. About the same time a
young struggling jalopy driver named Parnelli Jones
was a man on a mission.
F
ate brought these two
extraordinary personalities
together and a close bond was
formed which lasted over forty
successful years. From the original
sponsorship of Parnelli’s early
career of humble beginnings, to the pinnacle
of winning back to back Indianapolis 500’s
and three straight United States Auto Club
National Championships, the Vel’s Parnelli
Jones Racing team has done it all. The team,
throughout its rich history attracted race drivers,
engineers, designers, fabricators, and mechanics
with the best talent and amassed an impressive
competition record.
T
his abundance of skills introduced many
innovative and creative concepts to race
car, engine and power train design, while competing
at the highest levels of world class motorsports. Very
few racing teams, if any, can match the diversity
and the variety of racing series that
the Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing
team concurrently competed in. In
addition to National Championship
Indy cars, the team constructed and
maintained race cars that competed
successfully in Formula One World Championship
Racing, Off Road Racing, Formula 500 Championship
Racing, National Championship Drag Racing and
National Championship
Dirt Car Racing. During this
period, the Vel’s Parnelli Jones
Racing Team set an enormous
amount of track records and
even a world record for the
fastest lap on an oval track.
T
he organization
that Vel and Parnelli
formed began competing
in the United States Auto
Club Championship Indy Car Division in 1967 with a
normally aspirated 255 cubic inch Ford DOHC V8 and
a tube frame Brabham copy chassis. The following
year in 1968 when the Ford Motor Company began
to develop a 180 cubic inch turbocharged version
of its DOHC V8 Indy engine, Vel’s Parnelli Jones
Racing under the leadership of master
mechanic George Bignotti was called
upon to be one of the first teams to
utilize it in competition and assist in its
development. Through 1972 the team
won more races with this engine than
any other competitor.
T
he team began designing and constructing
its own race cars in 1969 and in 1970 using
the 1968 Lola Ford four wheel drive chassis as a
base, built the highly successful PJ Colt series of
cars which won both consecutive Indianapolis 500s and USAC
National Championships with Al Unser and Joe Leonard in
1970 and 1971.
In addition, a drag racing division was formed with
champion driver Danny Ongais which competed and won in
NHRA and AHRA National events in two different classes:
Top Fuel and Funny Car. These cars used supercharged Keith
Black nitro burning
Chrysler hemi-head
engines. Meanwhile
1963 Indianapolis
winner and team coowner Parnelli Jones
was busy himself
winning the 1970
SCCA Trans Am
Championship in a
Bud Moore prepared
Ford Mustang.
A
s if that wasn’t enough, the Vel’s Parnelli Jones off
road team built an advanced engineered Ford Bronco
nicknamed “Big Oly” that Parnelli drove to victory in the Baja
1000 in 1971 and 1972, and Baja 500 and Mint 400 in 1973.
During the mid 1970’s, the team also expanded into
Formula One World Championship Racing with a Vel’s Parnelli
Jones built race car designed by former Lotus head designer
Maurice Phillippe and powered by a normally aspirated 183
cubic inch Cosworth DOHC V8. This was the first Formula
One car to be constructed in the United States since 1925
when Duesenberg fielded a car for French Grand Prix
winner Jimmy Murphy. Mario Andretti drove the Vel’s Parnelli
Jones entry to several good finishes until the Formula One
division was disbanded in 1976 due to a major sponsor
pulling out of racing.
E
arlier in 1972, dubbed “The Super Team” by the
press, it was the
first domestic racing team in
the modern era to employ full
time race car designers who
in the ensuing seven years
designed eight different models
of race cars which the team
constructed and raced. The
Indy cars were designated
“Parnelli”
VPJ-1 (1972), VPJ-2 (1973), VPJ-3 (1974)
and the Formula One car was designated
VPJ-4 while the radical off road Chevy
Blazers were VPJ-5’s. In 1972 the three
radical VPJ-1 race cars all finished in the
top ten at Indy highlighted by Al Unser’s second place and
Joe Leonard winning the
team’s third straight USAC
National Championship. The
final race car in this series
began racing in 1975 with
the designation VPJ-6, with
subsequent modified versions
identified as VPJ-6B, VPJ-6C
and finally VPJ-6CT. The “T”
indicated the use of the new
revolutionary transverse four
speed gearbox. From 1973
to 1975, all Vel’s Parnelli Jones Indy team cars used the 159
cubic inch Turbo-charged four cylinder Offy engine until another
much needed revolution took place. Advanced in their thinking,
the Vel’s Parnelli Jones design group came up with an Indy
version of the Formula One chassis and a lightweight
turbocharged conversion of the Cosworth Formula
One engine. The cylinder capacity of the Cosworth
DFV was reduced to a United States Auto Club
rule conforming 159 cubic inches and given the
designation DFX. A highly refined version of this ground breaking
engine remains as the only engine available in today’s Champ
Car Racing series.
A
lso in the mid 1970’s, drivers Al
Unser, Mario Andretti and Danny
Ongais, competed in the SCCA/
United States Auto Club Formula
5000 Road Race series in T-332 Lola
chassis highly modified and prepared
by Vel’s Parnelli Jones fabricators
and mechanics. The engines, prepared by
Ryan Falconner, were 305 cubic inch Chevrolet
V8 Pushrod types producing in excess of 500
hp. The success rate for the team in the series
which spanned three years was very high,
winning several heat and features races while
setting many track records.
D
uring its existence, the team’s race
cars were always immaculately
prepared and presented, as well as competitive. It was the
largest race team of the era in terms of both employees and
facilities with over 60 race team personnel employed in Torrance,
California, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Norfolk, England. At
its peak in 1975, the Vel’s Parnelli Jones team required
over 30 support vehicles to transport the race cars and
personnel to and from events
worldwide. In addition, the
Formula One cars were flown
from their base in England to
certain races in Boeing 747’s on
specially built pallets, stored in
the giant craft’s cargo bay.
V
el’s Parnelli Jones
Racing team’s
presence in motorsports brought
professionalism and class to
any event and gave to each of the team’s many sponsors,
the marketing image and advertising vehicle they were
seeking. Fortunately, the history making Vel’s Parnelli
Jones team race cars have
survived and have been carefully
maintained in a museum quality
display for past, present and
future generations of racing fans
to enjoy.
T
he Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing team,
although highly respected throughout
the world for its participation in many forms
of motorsports, is best remembered for its
USAC Championship performance...
vVel’s Parnelli Jones Team started 276
National Championship races
vVel’s Parnelli Jones Team cars
Qualified fastest 47 times
vVel’s Parnelli Jones Team cars finished:
First .............53 times
Second .......27 times
Third ..........20 times
vVel’s Parnelli Jones Team cars finished:
First ...............2 times .........Indianapolis 500
Second .........2 times ......... Indianapolis 500
Third ............2 times ..........Indianapolis 500
First ..............3 times..........Pocono 500
Second .........1 time............Pocono 500
First ..............2 times ..........Ontario 500
Second .........2 times ..........Ontario 500
vVel’s Parnelli Jones Team drivers won
3 National Driving Championships
vVel’s Parnelli Jones Team drivers won
2 National Dirt Car Championships
vVel’s Parnelli Jones Team drivers won
3 Triple Crowns
Career highlights of some of the
champion drivers who have raced
Vel’s Parnelli Jones owned cars…
Mario Andretti - Nazareth, Pennsylvania
• 4 Time National Driving Champion
• National Dirt Car Champion
• World Driving Champion
• Daytona 500 Winner
• Indianapolis 500 Winner
• 52 Championship Car Victories
A. J. Foyt - Houston, Texas
• Daytona 500 Winner
• 24 hours of Le Mans Winner
• 7 Time National Driving Champion
• 4 Time Indianapolis 500 Winner
• 3 Time Pocono 500 Winner
• Ontario 500 Winner
• 66 Championship Car Victories
Joe Leonard - San Jose, California
• 2 Time National Driving Champion
• 3 Time AMA National Champion
• Pocono 500 Winner
• Ontario 500 Winner
• 6 Championship Car Victories
Danny Ongais - Costa Mesa, California
• AHRA National Champion
• NHRA Division Champion
• SCCA Division Champion
• Bonneville Record Holder
• 6 Championship Car Victories
Al Unser - Albuquerque, New Mexico
• National Driving Champion
• National Dirt Car Champion
• 4 Time Indianapolis 500 Winner
• 2 Time Pocono Winner
• 2 Time Ontario 500 Winner
• 39 Championship Car Victories
Parnelli Jones - Rolling Hills, California
• Midwest Sprint Car Champion
• 2 Time National Sprint Car Champion
• USAC National Stock Car Champion
• SCCA Trans Am Champion
• 2 Time Pike’s Peak Stock Car Champion
• 2 Time Baja 1000 Winner
• Baja 500 Winner
• Indianapolis 500 Winner
• 6 Championship Car Wins
Torrance, California