Like most people who left Wilkes for auto factory jobs and other work in Detroit in the 1940s and 1950s, Benny Parsons has returned to his native county. The Motor Racing Sports Hall of Fame driver and 1973 Winston Cup champion still has homes in Concord and Florida, but hes building a house overlooking the North Prong of Lewis Fork Creek Valley in Parsonsville [NC] and surrounding mountains. The hilltop house is on land thats been in his family for generations. On 10 adjoining acres where his forebears had an orchard, Parsons is planting rows of Chardonnay Merlot and Syrah grapes for a vineyard and winery. Parsons, 64, married and with two grown sons, has been in Wilkes a lot lately due to his new house and vineyard near where he was raised in Parsonsville. The motorsports radio show host and NASCAR TV analyst drew a big crowd when he was volunteer guest speaker at the Wilkes United Way Campaign Finale on Feb. 28. Parsons two brothers, Phil Parsons and Steve Parsons were born in Detroit and stayed with their parents. Steve still lives there and Phil lives in Denver.(In part from the Wilkes Journal-Patriot), also Parsons and wife Terri are building a vineyard on his old home place where he was born in Wilkes County N.C. The name of the vineyard is Rendezvous Ridge. Parsons has no plans to retire from broadcasting and hopes to be part of the ESPN or/and TNT TV package in 2007, NBC is in the final year of their NASCAR TV deal. Plans are to bottle and sell the wines under the label Benny Parsons Rendezvous Ridge.(3-22-2006)
