As a Matter of Fact, I Am Parnelli Jones
With Bones Bourcier
This is a book that has wanted to be written for a long time, and thanks to veteran scribe Bones Bourcier, now it has been. Presented in the first person narrative of an autobiography, it recounts the life of one Rufus Parnell Jones—Dust Bowl refugee, racing driver, team owner, businessman, elder statesman—in easily digested bites of his own words.
Accompanying those words are a series of “Eyewitness:” segments where a number of those who knew him well way back when—including both A.J.s, Foyt and Watson, Al and Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford among others—recount their own remembrances of him and his exploits. This allows the reader to absorb bits of the legend that Parnelli himself might never have told, simply because he doesn’t possess the perspective of his fellow racers. There’s also both a Foreword and Afterword from Mario Andretti.
Parnelli is one of the handful of American racers from the ’60s whose ability and versatility let them race anything, anywhere at any time, and even though virtually any American racing fan can recite the accomplishments of his legendary career, here is the deeper story behind them, told by the man himself.
Available for $39.95 at enthusiast bookstores or directly from publisher Coastal 181 at www.coastal181.com, this book will be a good fit for any enthusiast’s library.
