Women’s Bassmaster Tour Winner Takes Her ‘Victory Laps’ at Talladega

Story and Photo Courtesy of BASS

April 28, 2009

BASS Reporter’s Notebook: Women’s Bassmaster Tour Winner Takes Her ‘Victory Laps’ at Talladega

Women’s Bassmaster Tour angler Janet Parker of Little Elm, Texas, lapped the entire Academy Sports + Outdoors Women’s Bassmaster Tour field April 25 in Louisiana on the Ouachita River when she took her first BASS win by a margin of more than 8 pounds.

A scheduled appearance the next day in Alabama gave her the opportunity to do two more laps — victory laps, if you will — on the track at Talladega Superspeedway.

Parker led the parade lap at the April 26 Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was the third year in a row she led the race parade in her Aaron’s Dream Machine bass rig on behalf of her major sponsor, Atlanta, Ga.-based Aaron’s.

She also was at Talladega to accept a commendation given to her and Aaron’s by the U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute. The award was presented to Parker on the Talladega driver introduction stage.

The U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute is a program of the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army. Founded in 2005, it recognizes “special supporters” of soldiers and the Army’s mission.

“We’ve raised in excess of $90,000 so far for the Armed Forces Foundation through auctions of a donated boat rig and sponsors’ products. All my sponsors have really stepped up,” Parker said. Aaron’s has donated thousands more to military and veteran groups over the years, she added.

She started her charity efforts soon after making an appearance to talk about fishing at an Air Force base and decided she wanted to do more.

“Although I can’t begin to comprehend the sacrifices the military and their families make for our country, I want them to know that it is appreciated,” she said.

About that second “victory lap” at Talladega: Parker was a passenger in a pace car.

“I wasn’t expecting to do that,” she said. “The G force at 150 mph is incredible. It was scary and very exciting at the same time. The adrenaline going through me was about the same as when I caught my largest bass of 12 pounds, 5 ounces.”

That bass, for the record, was not at a WBT event, but in Mexico at Lake El Salto last December.