Parker Johnstone
Encyclopedia
Parker Johnstone III is a former race car driver and motorsports announcer from Redmond, Oregon
. An accomplished musician, he was the principal trumpet of the International Youth Orchestra, touring Europe, playing with Herbert von Karajan
and the Berlin Philharmonic, and famed pianist Van Cliburn
. Instead of attending Juilliard School of Music, he went to the engineering school at the University of California, Berkeley
, where he received his degree in 1982.
events, he worked as an instructor at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving after college. He continued to win while driving Corvettes and import sedans. Honda
hired him to drive during the 1984 season. He won numerous events in the IMSA
Firehawk series. He finished 2nd in the Renault Cup National Championship in 1984, earning a spot with the factory Renault team to race in Europe. He returned to the United States to win the Renault Cup championship in 1985. In 1986 he won the SCCA National Road Racing Championship driving for Honda in GT-4. He also won IMSA championships in International Sedan for Acura
in 1987 and 1988. In 1987 he was also the rookie of the year in the pro-Formula Atlantic division. He won the IMSA
Camel Lights
sports car championship 3 years in a row, from 1991 to 1993, setting all-time qualifying and race win records, including winning the 24 Hours of Daytona
twice, the 12 Hours of Sebring
, and 1000km Suzuka event in Japan. He finished second in both 1989 and 1990 in the IMSA International Sedan Championship.
seasons for Comptech
Racing. Significantly, in his oval debut at the Michigan 500
in 1995, he qualified on the pole with a new track record, giving Honda its first ever champ car pole position. He dominated the race until sidelined with a mechanical problem. In 1995, he also set the closed course world speed record in excess of 238 mph. He then moved up and ran the full season in 1996. For 1997, he moved to Team Green Racing
. Although he led several IndyCar races, his best CART finish was a second place that came in 1996 at the Long Beach Grand Prix
.
coverage. After three years of covering the NHRA Drag Racing Championship, he left broadcasting to oversee and operate Parker Johnstone's Wilsonville Honda in Wilsonville, Oregon
. Several of his historically significant race cars are on display there. He is an Eagle Scout. He is an instrument, commercial, certified flight instructor pilot and has competed and won in aerobatic competitions. He is scuba certified. He has appeared in over 50 TV commercials as well as performed as a stuntman in the movie Speed. He is a member of both the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Ferderation of Television and Radio Artisits (AFTRA). Currently he competes in triathlons and cycling races. 2006 marked his first full year of cycling competition in which he won twice. He lives in Wilsonville where he is a member of the city's board on parks. He also serves on the board of directors for the Children's Cancer Association.
Redmond, Oregon
Redmond is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated on July 6, 1910, the city is located on the eastern side of Oregon's Cascade Range, in the High Desert, and is considered the geographical heart of Central Oregon...
. An accomplished musician, he was the principal trumpet of the International Youth Orchestra, touring Europe, playing with Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
and the Berlin Philharmonic, and famed pianist Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
. Instead of attending Juilliard School of Music, he went to the engineering school at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where he received his degree in 1982.
Early career
He began his amateur racing career while in high school while working as a systems programmer in Silicon Valley part time to pay for his new hobby, racing automobiles. Winning at SCCASports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...
events, he worked as an instructor at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving after college. He continued to win while driving Corvettes and import sedans. Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
hired him to drive during the 1984 season. He won numerous events in the IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
Firehawk series. He finished 2nd in the Renault Cup National Championship in 1984, earning a spot with the factory Renault team to race in Europe. He returned to the United States to win the Renault Cup championship in 1985. In 1986 he won the SCCA National Road Racing Championship driving for Honda in GT-4. He also won IMSA championships in International Sedan for Acura
Acura
Acura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. The brand has been available in the United States and Canada since March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and near-performance vehicles. It was introduced to Hong Kong in 1991, Mexico in 2004, and China in 2006...
in 1987 and 1988. In 1987 he was also the rookie of the year in the pro-Formula Atlantic division. He won the IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
Camel Lights
IMSA GT Championship
IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States and occasionally in Canada.-History:...
sports car championship 3 years in a row, from 1991 to 1993, setting all-time qualifying and race win records, including winning the 24 Hours of Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...
twice, the 12 Hours of Sebring
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...
, and 1000km Suzuka event in Japan. He finished second in both 1989 and 1990 in the IMSA International Sedan Championship.
CART
A road course specialist, he drove in mainly road course races in the 1994 and 1995 CART/IndyCarChamp Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
seasons for Comptech
Comptech
Comptech is a firm that designs, engineers and builds race engines.Comptech originated in mid '80's by preparing racing Acura Integra sedans with supercharged engines. Comptech then moved to the exotic Acura NSX powered IMSA prototype cars, winning three consecutive championships in 1990, 1991...
Racing. Significantly, in his oval debut at the Michigan 500
Firestone Indy 400
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.Between 1970 and 2007, Michigan International Speedway hosted at least one open-wheel race in every season, hosting 55 open-wheel races over 38 years...
in 1995, he qualified on the pole with a new track record, giving Honda its first ever champ car pole position. He dominated the race until sidelined with a mechanical problem. In 1995, he also set the closed course world speed record in excess of 238 mph. He then moved up and ran the full season in 1996. For 1997, he moved to Team Green Racing
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship, and U.S. F2000 National Championship.-Current IndyCar Drivers and Cars:*7 Danica Patrick, GoDaddy.com*26 Marco Andretti...
. Although he led several IndyCar races, his best CART finish was a second place that came in 1996 at the Long Beach Grand Prix
Long Beach Grand Prix
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is an open-wheel race held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder and promoter which began as a vision while working at a travel agency in downtown Long Beach. It was the premier circuit in the Champ Car from 1996, and...
.
Retirement
After he retired from professional racing, Parker became the color analyst commentator for ABC's/ESPN's coverage of IndyCar/CART racing. When ESPN stopped covering IndyCar/CART he was moved to cover the pit action and work as the technical pit analyst for the NHRANational Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
coverage. After three years of covering the NHRA Drag Racing Championship, he left broadcasting to oversee and operate Parker Johnstone's Wilsonville Honda in Wilsonville, Oregon
Wilsonville, Oregon
Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. Originally founded as Boones Landing due to the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at the location, the community became Wilsonville in...
. Several of his historically significant race cars are on display there. He is an Eagle Scout. He is an instrument, commercial, certified flight instructor pilot and has competed and won in aerobatic competitions. He is scuba certified. He has appeared in over 50 TV commercials as well as performed as a stuntman in the movie Speed. He is a member of both the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Ferderation of Television and Radio Artisits (AFTRA). Currently he competes in triathlons and cycling races. 2006 marked his first full year of cycling competition in which he won twice. He lives in Wilsonville where he is a member of the city's board on parks. He also serves on the board of directors for the Children's Cancer Association.
CART
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 1994 CART World Series season The 1994 IndyCar season, the sixteenth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 16 races, beginning in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia on March 20 and concluding in Monterey, California on October 9. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500... |
Comptech Comptech Comptech is a firm that designs, engineers and builds race engines.Comptech originated in mid '80's by preparing racing Acura Integra sedans with supercharged engines. Comptech then moved to the exotic Acura NSX powered IMSA prototype cars, winning three consecutive championships in 1990, 1991... |
 SRF 1994 Australian FAI Indycar Grand Prix The 1994 Australian FAI Indycar Grand Prix was the opening round of the 1994 CART World Series season, held on 20 March 1994 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia.... |
 PHX |
LBH |
IND 1994 Indianapolis 500 The 78th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29, 1994. Al Unser, Jr. won from the pole position, his second Indy 500 victory. Much to the surprise of competitors, media, and fans, Marlboro Team Penske arrived at the Speedway with a brand new, secretly-built... |
MIL |
DET |
POR 19 |
CLE 17 |
 TOR Ret |
MIS |
MDO 23 |
NHM |
VAN 13 |
ROA |
NZR |
LS 17 |
35th | 0 | |
| 1995 1995 CART World Series season The 1995 IndyCar season, the seventeenth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 17 races, beginning in Miami, Florida on March 5 and concluding in Monterey, California on September 10. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Jacques... |
Comptech Comptech Comptech is a firm that designs, engineers and builds race engines.Comptech originated in mid '80's by preparing racing Acura Integra sedans with supercharged engines. Comptech then moved to the exotic Acura NSX powered IMSA prototype cars, winning three consecutive championships in 1990, 1991... |
MIA Streets of Miami Streets of Miami may refer to temporary street circuits set up in the Miami-South Florida metropolitan area area:*Bayfront Park *Tamiami Park *Bicentennial Park... |
SRF 1995 Indycar Australia The 1995 Indycar Australia was the second round of the 1995 CART World Series season, held on 19 March 1995 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, Surfers Paradise, Australia.-Qualifying results:- Race :- Notes :* Average Speed 92.335 mph... |
PHX |
LBH |
NZR |
IND 1995 Indianapolis 500 The 79th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28, 1995. Sanctioned by USAC, it was part of the 1995 CART Indycar season. Jacques Villenueve won in his second start. After dominating the 1994 race and the 1994 IndyCar season, Marlboro Team Penske failed to... |
MIL |
DET Ret |
POR |
ROA 12 |
TOR |
CLE 11 |
MIS Ret |
MDO Ret |
NHM |
VAN 11 |
LS 17 |
27th | 6 |
| 1996 1996 CART World Series season The 1996 IndyCar season, the eighteenth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 16 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 3 and concluding in Monterey, California on September 8, in which it was marred by the death of Jeff Krosnoff. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers'... |
Comptech Comptech Comptech is a firm that designs, engineers and builds race engines.Comptech originated in mid '80's by preparing racing Acura Integra sedans with supercharged engines. Comptech then moved to the exotic Acura NSX powered IMSA prototype cars, winning three consecutive championships in 1990, 1991... |
MIA DNS |
 RIO Ret |
SRF 1996 Bartercard Indycar Australia The 1996 Bartercard Indycar Australia was the third round of the 1996 CART World Series season, held on 31 March 1996 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, Surfers Paradise, Australia.-Qualifying results:- Race :-External links:*... Ret |
LBH 2 |
NZR 20 |
500 U.S. 500 The U.S. 500 was an automobile race sanctioned by CART on May 26, 1996 at the Michigan International Speedway as an alternative to the 1996 Indianapolis 500.... Ret |
MIL 16 |
DET 14 |
POR 5 |
CLE Ret |
TOR Ret |
MIS Ret |
MDO Ret |
ROA Ret |
VAN 11 |
LS 13 |
17th | 33 | |
| 1997 1997 CART World Series season The 1997 CART season, the nineteenth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 17 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 2 and concluding in Fontana, California on September 28. The PPG CART World Series Drivers' Champion was Alex Zanardi. Rookie of the Year was Patrick... |
Green | MIA 8 |
SRF Ret |
LBH 5 |
NZR Ret |
RIO 12 |
STL 7 |
MIL Ret |
DET Ret |
POR 9 |
CLE 10 |
TOR 12 |
MIS Ret |
MDO 12 |
ROA Ret |
VAN 11 |
LS 12 |
FON 11 |
16th | 36 |