Hank Parker Jr.

Hank Parker Jr.
Born (1975-10-07) October 7, 1975
Denver, North Carolina, United States
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish 78th (2002)
First race 2002 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
137 races run over 8 years
Best finish 14th (2000)
First race 1997 Jiffy Lube Miami 300 (Homestead)
Last race 2005 Federated Auto Parts 300 (Nashville)
First win 2001 Auto Club 300 (Fontana)
Last win 2002 NetZero 250 (Pikes Peak)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 31 2
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
29 races run over 2 years
Best finish 17th (2004)
First race 2003 O'Reilly 200 (Memphis)
Last race 2004 Ford 200 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 6 0

Hank Parker Jr. (born October 7, 1975) is an American stock car racing driver. He is a retired competitor in NASCAR Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series competition, posting two wins and a best points finish of 14th in the Busch Series. His brother, Billy Parker, ran part-time in the Busch Series in 2004, and his father, Hank, is a professional outdoorsman.

Career

Parker began racing go-karts near his home in Denver. From there, he moved onto street stock racing at Concord Motorsports Park, where he won seven feature racing events in his first eighteen starts. The next season, he began running Late Model races and finished fifth in points. He won two races the next year.

In 1997, Parker moved to the Slim Jim All Pro Series, a former NASCAR touring series located in the Southeast United States. Parker picked up one win and was named the series' Most Popular Driver. He also made his NASCAR debut at the Jiffy Lube Miami 300 at Homestead in the #78 Mark III Financial Chevrolet, starting 41st and finishing 23rd.

Parker returned to the 78 in 1998, hoping to run the full schedule. After he was unable to qualify for most of his attempts, he was released. He did not run again until the AC Delco 200, where he finished sixth in the #53 B.A.S.S Chevrolet owned by his father.

Parker ran his father's car full-time in 1999 in NASCAR Busch Series, posting two top-fives and finishing 18th in points. He also finished second to Tony Raines for Rookie of the Year honors despite missing five races. In 2000, Parker received sponsorship from Team Marines and won his first career pole position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He also had eight top-tens and finished a career-best fourteenth in points.

In 2001, Parker switched to the #36 GNC Live Well Chevy for Cicci-Welliver Racing. He finished 15th in points, and collected his first win at the Auto Club 300.[1] At the end of the season, his team was sold to Wayne Jesel and switched to Dodge for the 2002 season.[2] He won another race at Pikes Peak International Raceway and had eight top-tens.[2] He also made his Winston Cup debut, driving the #91 USG Dodge for Evernham Motorsports at North Carolina Speedway.[2] He started 25th and finished 33rd, four laps down.

At the end of the 2002 season, Parker's team shut down suddenly, leaving him without a full-time ride. He began the season running a pair of races for Brewco Motorsports, finishing sixth at Darlington Raceway. He ran four more races that season splitting time between NEMCO Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt, Inc., finishing fifth twice. He also made his Craftsman Truck Series debut driving the #75 for Spears Motorsports, posting two top-ten finishes.

In 2004, Parker signed to drive for Innovative Motorsports' new Craftsman Truck team. He had four top-tens and finished seventeenth in points. Unfortunately, Innovative closed its doors at the end of the season,[2] leaving Parker unemployed again. He made his last start in 2005 filling for Carl Edwards at Nashville. He won the pole, but finished 20th.

Parker then decided to retire from racing; he joined his father and brother to produce Hank Parker 3D, an outdoors-themed television show.[2]

Motorsports career results



NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Craftsman Truck Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. ↑ "Pit strategy pays for Parker". The Beaver County Times (Beaver, PA). April 29, 2001. p. B2. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Aumann, Mark (March 22, 2012). "Parker makes biggest splash at California in 2001". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. Retrieved 2013-08-20.

External links

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