Indy 500 Champion and racing legend Rufus Parnell “Parnelli” Jones passed away on June 4, 2024 at the age of 90. Born in Texarkana, Arkansas, and moving to California in his teens, Jones started his racing career at 17 years of age on dirt, racing sprint cars and midgets before JC Agajanian snatched him up and got him racing locally in Stock Cars. When his career ended, Jones would race and win the Indy 500, Stock Cars, Sports Cars, Pikes Peak Hillclimb, Baja 500 and 1000, Trans Am, and even Can-Am, winning behind the wheel of nearly every car he sat in. A series of events led him to race under the Olympia Brewing Company logo.
Parnelli Jones Meets Bill Stroppe, Fords Secret Weapon
Bill Stroppe was a legendary California race driver and car builder and enjoyed a deep relationship with the late 1950s Southern California Hot Rod community, including business partner Clay Smith and employee John Holman (Holman Moody), who would later make names for themselves in the annals of racing history. Stroppe had developed a close relationship with Ford Motor Company through competition (and surviving Ford’s ban on competition from 1957-1962), which eventually made the Bronco operation possible. He would work with Ford for his entire career. Little did anyone suspect how famous the partnership between Jones and Stroppe would become.
In 1964, Jones had won eight races driving for Stroppe on his way to a USAC Stock Car title and captured back-to-back stock car wins at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1963-64. In 1965, Ford approached Stroppe about the development of the new Bronco, initially giving him two Broncos for testing. Seeing the potential for racing, Stroppe built a race-prepped Bronco for the Inaugural Baja 1000 in 1967, driven by Ray Harvick and himself. Despite an early retirement, Stroppe began developing ideas to make the Bronco a competitive racing vehicle. In 1968 and 1969, Stroppe fielded two Broncos for the Baja 1000, winning with Larry Minor at the wheel. The Bronco became the only 4×4 winner in the 50-year history of the event.
Parnelli Jones and the Olympia Brewing Company
The idea to build a more durable off-road Bronco was developed between Jones and Stroppes race engineer Dick Russell, with the original ideas sketched on the back of a napkin during lunch. It involved a complete rethink of the chassis, body, and suspension, and was initially met with nearly grievous disapproval from Stroppe. The heavy front axle was removed and replaced with a twin I-beam suspension. It was given an aluminum and fiberglass body, twin fuel tanks, quick change “knock-off” wheels for faster tire changes (a lesson learned from Jones’ Indy 500 days) longer shocks, and a wing that was adjustable from the cockpit. A new, faster, lighter, more durable Big Oly soon smoothed over whatever hard feelings Stroppe had, as this would soon become the father of the modern “purpose-built” Class 8 desert racing truck.
In 1968, at a large Christmas party, Stroppe would bait Jones into racing at Baja. When Jones rejected his offer to race off-road again, Stroppe suggested that Jones was “too old” for it. This was effectively waving a red flag at a bull! Jones reportedly replied, “You build it, and I’ll drive the wheels off it” and the legend was born.
In 1969 Jones drove the Ford Bronco in his inaugural Baja 500 and 1000, and when Jones promised he’d, “drive the wheels off it,” he wasn’t kidding, destroying several early Bronco suspensions and trucks. Stroppe was often heard yelling at the top of his voice to Jones to take it easier on the car!
That Bronco was soon to become racing royalty, when it was sponsored by the small West Coast brand, Olympia Brewing Company. During the early 1970s, the Schmidt family brewery in Tumwater was not only the sponsor of the “Big Oly” Bronco but was also involved in sponsoring Evil Knievel, Unlimited Hydroplanes, and NHRA Drag Racing. “It was quite the time for a small regional brewery to be sponsoring racing,” Robbie Schmidt, former vice president of operations at Olympia Brewery said. “The marketing guys were looking for opportunities to attract beer drinkers, and racing was where it was at.” Olympia Brewery was seen not only on race cars during the 1970s, but also in movies such as “Any Which Way But Loose” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Starting in 1971, carrying Jones’ Big Oly nickname and Olympia Brewing Company sponsorship on the Bronco, Jones and Stroppe would lead the Baja 1000 from start to finish in a new record-destroying time of 14 hours and 59 minutes, beating the previous year’s record by nearly six hours. They won again in 1972, in a time of 16 hours and 42 minutes, for back-to-back victories. In 1973, Jones and Stroppe scored wins in the Baja 500 and Mint 400 off-road events.
Jones had a major accident at the 1974 Baja 500 and stepped away from full-time off-road racing to become a race car owner. “In road racing, if you crash, you’re out, that’s it, you’re done for the day,” Jones once said, “In off-road racing, it feels like you’re crashing all day long, but you just keep going.
Big Oly would forever change the sport of desert racing, with its innovations and advancements, and cementing itself, and the Olympia Brewery, into racing history. Big Oly remained one of Jones’ favorite race cars, staying in his personal collection until its auction in 2021. Big Oly would sell for an amazing $1.7 Million at Mecum Auctions Indianapolis.
