Harry Jefferson's WC #95-1975
Stock Car Racing History
Parky Nall's 2005 obituary story in the Charlotte Observer:
February 25, 1929-January 3, 2005
IT'S A MATTER OF LIFE...
He built engines, full life
Midland man was a popular mechanic in NASCAR, other circles
By GERRY HOSTETLER/Charlotte Observer
He built engines that won races on land or water. He crafted them for customers such as Sterling Marlin, Parnelli Jones, Marvin Porter, A.J. Foyt, David Pearson, Ron Hutcherson and Janet Guthrie, the first woman NASCAR (Modern era)driver.
Parker "Parky" Nall Jr. of Midland, known for his ability to wring extra power from a stock engine, died Jan. 3 at home of cancer. He was 75 and had retired in 2000.
His knack for increasing horsepower made him a popular mechanic in many circles. His talent contributed heavily to NASCAR wins for Porter in 1960, a second place in 1962, and more wins in 1963 and 1964 for the Ford team of Eddie Gray and Ron Hornaday.
He moved to Portland, Ore., and built engines for speedboats. He piloted one boat to victory in a Columbia River race from Portland to Astoria when he
was quite young, said Barbara Nall, his second wife.
Parky served aboard the USS Forrest B. Royal on his Korean War hitch in the Navy, then opened a machine shop on the West Coast. An early marriage produced son David and daughter Carrie (Oliver). He later married Barbara and added daughter Linda (Silwedel) and son Vance.
`Basically a Ford man'
In 1975, he came to Charlotte and set up shop next door to Hutcherson-Pagan Enterprises on Statesville Road. Ron Hutcherson met Parky that year when he
bought his first racing engine from him."He always built good, strong motors," Ron said. It was Parky's engine that powered the Chevrolet Laguna No. 36 to a 1977 win at Talladega. "He took a Chevy 358 cubic-inch motor, and it outran a Chrysler 426 and we won the race. He was basically a Ford man, and we teased him that he had `Ford' written on his shorts."
"He was a very, very gifted mechanic and was very particular. He was a little on the hard-headed side and wanted to do it his way," said Ron.
"But his was usually the best way."
`Always had a backup' That hard-headedness was "probably the most prominent feature of his
personality," said son Vance.
Parky's inflexible focus on quality and preparedness caused "the guys to tease him because he always had a backup for a backup and if that broke, he
had a backup for that." His dad was a self-taught mechanic and "never went to (mechanic) school that I know of," said Vance.
In 1989, Parky met Susie Cecil at the February Daytona 500 race; they started dating in November. "We had a nice life, a fun one," Susie said.
The couple enjoyed Parky's Navy reunions and attended those in Newport, R.I., New Orleans and Charleston.
"Parky loved the Navy reunions," Susie said of her silver-haired, tattooed companion. "He talked to all of his old friends and liked to relive those days. The first one we went to, they stayed up all night and he came home laughing."
Parky liked fishing at Southport and held many fish cookouts. "It was a big thing," Susie said.
A bigger thing was his induction into California's West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in October. The induction program noted that he started in the sport
as a young boy by sneaking into races. His reputation for building engines spread, and in 1959 he got a job with the winning Vels Ford team.
In all, Parky had a career to be envied. He got paid for doing what he wanted to do -- and it's a good bet that he did it exactly the way he wanted
