Parnelli Jones, 1963 Indianapolis 500 champion, dies at age 90

Legendary racer and 1963 Indianapolis 500 champion Parnelli Jones died Tuesday at age 90, his son PJ posted on social media.

The younger Jones said his father had battle Parkinson's disease for several years.

Jones dominated the Speedway action in '63, setting a qualifying record of 151.153 mph and winning the race by 33 seconds over Jimmy Clark.

The victory came with controversy. Jones' car had leaked oil and begun smoking. Race officials considered black flagging him but were talked out of it.

Fellow drivers Eddie Sachs and Roger McCluskey claimed they had spun in Jones' spilt oil. At a luncheon the next day, Sachs complained bitterly, and Jones punched him.

He competed in the Indy 500 seven times (1961-67), also finishing second in 1965 and surviving a pit stop fire in 1964. He was also the 1962 pole-sitter, becoming the first driver to top 150 mph for a 4-lap qualifying run.

He led 492 laps in Indy 500 competition, eighth most in race history. He had victory in hand in 1961 and '62 when mechanical mishaps slowed him to finishes of 12th and 7th, respectively.

He also led on Lap 196 in the '67 race before a bearing failure relegated him to 6th.

Jones, who was born Rufus Parnell Jones in Texarkana, Arkansas, on Aug. 12, 1933, and began racing at 17 in California (before legal racing at the time). Legend has it lying about his age was easy, but he needed an alias to cover his identity. "Parnelli" came out of that with the help of a friend.

He would race just about anything: sports cars, sprint cars (25 wins), midget cars (25 wins), off-road vehicles (4 Baja distance wins) and stock cars (22 NASCAR West Coast Stock wins, 4 Cups wins).

After retiring from Indy 500 driving, he co-owned the cars that Al Unser won the race with in 1970 and '71. He also fielded a Formula One car that Mario Andretti drove in 1974-76.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Parnelli Jones, 1963 Indy 500 champion, dies at age 90