Parnelli Jones, champion racing driver and record holder, has died at the age of 90

The next day, driver Eddie Sachs, who claimed he slid into a wall because of oil from Jones’ car, got into an argument with him. As Jones told MotorSport magazine in 2013: “I said, ‘I should punch you in the face.’ And he said, ‘Go ahead.’ So I let him.”

Jones’ last Indy 500 came in 1967, driving Andy Granatelli’s revolutionary turbine-powered car, which was considerably faster than the traditional piston-engined cars. He was seven miles ahead of AJ Foyt when a bearing in his gearbox, which reportedly cost $6, broke. He had to limp into the pits while Foyt celebrated his third Indy 500 triumph.

In 1971 and 1972, Jones won the off-road race that became known as the Baja 1000, and he captured the Sports Car Club of America’s 1970 Trans-Am road championship.

In addition to his son PJ, he leaves behind his wife Judy Jones, another son, Page, and six grandchildren.

After his racing career, Jones ran tire and auto parts stores.

Away from the professional racing circuit, he sometimes showed a penchant for speed. He recounted how, after winning the 1963 Indy 500, a police officer stopped him for speeding on a Southern California highway and asked him, “Who do you think you are, Parnelli Jones?”

His 2012 autobiography, co-written with journalist Bones Bourcier, was titled “I Am Actually Parnelli Jones.”

Alexandra Petri contributed to the reporting.