Thu, 24 Jun 2010, 12:10 AM Now, This Is Living

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Parfait vs. Trevor Denton

Do not be mislead. Jovial Texan Lloyd Parfait is the type of fella who would do just about anything for a friend, and he'll tirelessly entertain with humor-filled stories of his various adventures for hours on end, but when it's time to race, the man is all business. He recently drove home that point at Bristol Dragway when he mowed through a string of tough challengers en route to scoring his third Super Comp national event title at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Fourth round was scheduled for Sunday afternoon in muggy Bristol, allowing Parfait a night's rest to ponder and plan for his meeting with Chad Hedgecock, and the forethought was effective. The Division 4 points leader was a remarkable .014 at the tree and clocked an 8.910 on the 8.90 index to beat Hedgecock's .025 and 8.903 by four-thousandths.

"I raced Hedgecock for five hours before I raced him," said Parfait. "He didn't have a chance. It was a great race, and it had to be to beat him."

In the quarterfinals, Parfait was second to leave the starting line, .018 to .014, but a dead-on 8.900 was good for the win over David Tatum and a bye run into the final, where he got the win light when Trevor Denton fouled by .013-second.

Parfait celebrates Houston win.

The victory was the third in less than a year for Parfait, who won in Dallas last season and Houston earlier this year, but the string of wins were a long time coming for the Beaumont, Texas native; he participated in his first national event in 1964 when he was a freshman in high school. Back then, he wheeled a C/Gas '55 Chevrolet and swept up around a local speed shop, observing every move of the gearheads surrounding him and ultimately learning how to build engines and do head work.

After a five year stint in the Navy that concluded with four Vietnam service medals, Parfait raced a bit in a '66 GTO, continued his education, traveled, took some time off of racing, and got back to it in the late 1990s.

"For awhile I stayed away from the drag strip, because if I smelled it, I'd be back in it," recalled Parfait, whose best previous finish in the division was in 2007, when he earned the No. 2 spot. "It's a disease that insurance doesn't cover. But I had my daughter, Julie, with me on Wednesdays and the weekends, and we started going to the drag strip. One day I said, 'You know, I could build a better motor than that. I could do this.' And I got back into it. I met some good guys like Bart Nelson who have helped me out a lot, and here we are."

Parfait, far lane, defeated Jay Thornburg in the Houston final.

His trio of national event wins and divisional successes, including the trophy earned at the 2007 event in Rusk, Texas, are sources of great pride for Parfait, and although he takes it very serious, racing isn't as all-consuming for him as it is for many others. He is also a devoted fisherman and a world-traveler. Parfait, who heads two businesses, seeks adventure and doesn't do much on a small scale.

Good friend and Division 7 racer Hubert Pierce, who came to Bristol to support Parfait, said, "Lloyd does everything 110 percent. Drag racing, fishing, it doesn't matter. He always gives 110 percent."

Giving is one of Parfait's strong suits, and rewards on the racetrack pale in comparison to the rewards Parfait finds from helping others. "There is an old Chinese proverb that says, 'Happiness is not fully enjoyed until it's shared,' " he said. "I believe that to be true."

When NHRA Announcer Lynn Nickerson was battling cancer, Parfait jumped at the opportunity to help a friend.

"We put on four or five races for Lynn and paid for his medical expenses, and he's clear of cancer now," said Parfait. "He is a fine man, I love him like a brother, and we had a good time doing those benefits. You wouldn't believe the people that came out and would shove money into those things.

Parfait with good friend Hubert Pierce after Bristol win.

"Winning three Wallys speaks for itself, and I'm just as proud of the division race I won in Rusk. I've won some IHRA stuff, had some low numbers on my car, and I'm proud of all of it, but Lynn is a prince and I was glad to help. Really, I just like these fine folks. Some of them, I'd jerk a knot in their tail, but overall, these are the finest people you'll meet in your life. You won't meet a lazy drag racer, they'll all help you out, even the toughest competitors. I beat Edmond Richardson in Memphis, and I treasure that time card; I'll keep it forever. But if I broke tomorrow, he'd be over here working on my car. That's the kind of people they are, and that's what drag racing is all about. That's what keeps you coming back, not winning."

Parfait, who lives in Crosby, Texas, and has a shop in Baytown, just seven minutes from the track, readily admits that "you always sell it all on Sunday and buy it back on Monday," and that drag racing is more frustrating than not at times, so it really is the community spirit that motivates his participation. He credits Nelson for much of his success in recent years, as well as engine-builder Louis Boyd, who keeps his '01 Mullis dragster competitive. Back home, Mike Ward keeps the businesses afloat while Parfait is away racing or traveling. His favorite destination spot? Europe.

Parfait bested Mark Powers to claim his first win in Dallas.

"I go at least five or six times a year," said Parfait. "I love Paris, love Rome. I just love Europe. When the Berlin wall came down, I was there. I have a shadow box with a piece of it and a picture of myself and a German guard breaking rebar. I've been inside the pyramids - I bribed a guy to open a lock on a pyramid that hadn't been opened in years. I'm just an old man enjoying life."

Parfait's two children are another source of enjoyment and pride. His son, formally known as Lloyd Edison Parfait III but nicknamed Pete from birth, is a West Pointer who played football for the Army and is an Army officer, and daughter Julie is a light in Parfait's life and has provided him with a precious grandson.

What the future holds is sort of up in the air for the fun-loving soul.

Parfait with his first national event Wally.

"I'm thinking about buying a summer home in France and spending six months here and six months there," said Parfait. "There are two drag strips in France, eight in Germany. But when you go over there, you don't do things like drag racing. You just go over there to look. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world."

In the next breath, though, Parfait admitted that buying a car to race across the pond is a possibility, and his winning Super Comp rail will stay put here in the States.

"It's a great car, but ironically, it's broken right now," he said as the dust settled following the winner's circle celebration in Bristol. "It broke on the way to take the pictures. The air solenoid for the throttle, it had no gas. I'm a very lucky man in many ways, and my life has been blessed for some strange reason."

Parfait, fourth in the national standings following the Bristol event, is proud to be competing against the Good Guys of Division 4, and was pleased to be honored with the Good Guy award in 2009 based on a vote of his peers. To finish the season as the division champ would be a tremendous accomplishment. Mostly, though, he's just taking it race by race and treasuring each step along the way.

"I don't know that I would ever go after the national championship, but you just live your life as it comes. That's what I'm doing. I'm just living life."