Parker Who?

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Parker Who?
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
'95 MIS polesitter Johnstone returns to the high banks
Parker who?
That's what a lot of Indy car fans were saying when they tuned into the television broadcast of the 1995 Michigan 500 and learned that an upstart named Parker Johnstone had qualified his Reynard-Honda on the pole at an average speed of more than 231 mph. After all, Michigan was just Johnstone's tenth Indy car start. What's more, this was not only Johnstone's first visit to Michigan Speedway, it was the veteran road racer's first race on an oval of any shape or size. Johnstone looks back to the experience with a mixture of pride and amusement.
"At the time a lot of people said 'Well you had a Honda engine and that's why you qualified on the pole," he says. "They overlook the fact that Andre Ribeiro had a Honda engine and he qualified eleventh."
"We'd done quite a bit of testing at Michigan, Indy and Texas World Speedway for the Honda program. We had the set-up from one of Bobby Rahal's ex-engineers and our car was perfect - but I didn't realize that. It was the first speedway I'd ever raced on and at the time I just thought that was the way the car felt; I didn't understand how special that particular car was."
Johnstone's Reynard-Honda proved just as special in the race, enabling Parker to dominate the early part of the race before he was sidelined by a wheel bearing failure. But Johnstone's remarkable weekend at Michigan didn't end there. Shortly after Johnstone's car was officially retired, ABC television made Parker an impromptu member of its announcing team.
"I got a look at what goes on in the television broadcast," says Parker. "The fact that the announcers are able to maintain their composure and sound intelligent while someone is screaming in their ear...there's a lot going on there.
"It also allowed me to share some insights with the viewers that no one else could possibly have, other than another driver who had just fallen out of the race. I enjoyed it. Who knows, in ten years if I ever had an opportunity to do broadcasting it may be because I dropped out of the '95 Michigan 500."
For the time being, however, Johnstone's focus is in racing and winning at Michigan Speedway. He's come close to that elusive first Indy car win on a couple of occasions, leading 35 laps in the inaugural U.S. 500 then running in the top ten throughout the 1996 Michigan 500 before crashing as the result of a punctured tire.
"I know an inanimate object can't owe you anything," says Johnstone. "But if any race track owes me something it's Michigan. I honestly feel that with some better luck I could have won any - or all - of my races there.
"The Honda-Reynard-Firestone package has been very, very competitive at Michigan the past few seasons, and I expect our Team KOOL Green to be very strong again this year. So I'm hoping this will be my turn at Michigan."
Barry Green on Michigan Speedway:

"The Reynard-Honda-Firestone package has been very strong at Michigan for the past several years. The Honda certainly likes to stretch its legs at Michigan and we had a productive test there earlier this month. But there are no guarantees. Everybody's going to have to work awfully hard to be up front. Everyone's keen to be up front, and not just at Team KOOL Green. At this point of the season, the pressure in on every team to produce good results."
Parker Johnstone on Michigan Speedway:

"Michigan Speedway is one of the most exhilarating places you'll ever drive because of the sheer speed involved. It's one of the most "fun" places we race simply because you can pass any place, any time. I've run side by side with drivers for lap after lap after lap; I've gone three abreast, four abreast, I've passed low, I've passed high and that makes it a real thinking race."


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		Parker Who? ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. '95 MIS polesitter Johnstone returns to the high banks Parker who? That's what a lot of Indy car fans were saying when they tuned into the television broadcast of the 1995 Michigan 500 and learned that an upstart named Parker Johnstone had qualified his Reynard-Honda on the pole at an average speed of more than 231 mph. After all, Michigan was just Johnstone's tenth Indy car start. What's more, this was not only Johnstone's first visit to Michigan Speedway, it was the veteran road racer's first race on an oval of any shape or size. Johnstone looks back to the experience with a mixture of pride and amusement. "At the time a lot of people said 'Well you had a Honda engine and that's why you qualified on the pole," he says. "They overlook the fact that Andre Ribeiro had a Honda engine and he qualified eleventh." "We'd done quite a bit of testing at Michigan, Indy and Texas World Speedway for the Honda program. We had the set-up from one of Bobby Rahal's ex-engineers and our car was perfect - but I didn't realize that. It was the first speedway I'd ever raced on and at the time I just thought that was the way the car felt; I didn't understand how special that particular car was." Johnstone's Reynard-Honda proved just as special in the race, enabling Parker to dominate the early part of the race before he was sidelined by a wheel bearing failure. But Johnstone's remarkable weekend at Michigan didn't end there. Shortly after Johnstone's car was officially retired, ABC television made Parker an impromptu member of its announcing team. "I got a look at what goes on in the television broadcast," says Parker. "The fact that the announcers are able to maintain their composure and sound intelligent while someone is screaming in their ear...there's a lot going on there. "It also allowed me to share some insights with the viewers that no one else could possibly have, other than another driver who had just fallen out of the race. I enjoyed it. Who knows, in ten years if I ever had an opportunity to do broadcasting it may be because I dropped out of the '95 Michigan 500." For the time being, however, Johnstone's focus is in racing and winning at Michigan Speedway. He's come close to that elusive first Indy car win on a couple of occasions, leading 35 laps in the inaugural U.S. 500 then running in the top ten throughout the 1996 Michigan 500 before crashing as the result of a punctured tire. "I know an inanimate object can't owe you anything," says Johnstone. "But if any race track owes me something it's Michigan. I honestly feel that with some better luck I could have won any - or all - of my races there. "The Honda-Reynard-Firestone package has been very, very competitive at Michigan the past few seasons, and I expect our Team KOOL Green to be very strong again this year. So I'm hoping this will be my turn at Michigan." Barry Green on Michigan Speedway: "The Reynard-Honda-Firestone package has been very strong at Michigan for the past several years. The Honda certainly likes to stretch its legs at Michigan and we had a productive test there earlier this month. But there are no guarantees. Everybody's going to have to work awfully hard to be up front. Everyone's keen to be up front, and not just at Team KOOL Green. At this point of the season, the pressure in on every team to produce good results." Parker Johnstone on Michigan Speedway: "Michigan Speedway is one of the most exhilarating places you'll ever drive because of the sheer speed involved. It's one of the most "fun" places we race simply because you can pass any place, any time. I've run side by side with drivers for lap after lap after lap; I've gone three abreast, four abreast, I've passed low, I've passed high and that makes it a real thinking race."