Former NASCAR champion Benny Parsons, hospitalized on December 26 due to complications from lung cancer, died today in Charlotte, North Carolina after a short battle with the disease. He was 65.

Parsons, who had not smoked since 1978, was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung in July 2006. He underwent aggressive chemotherapy and radiation and announced in October that he was in remission. But the intensive treatment rendered his left lung useless and then a blood clot appeared in his right lung, prompting his admission to the hospital where he spent his remaining days in an induced coma.

Parsons was confident he could survive with one lung and compared his condition to that of John Wayne.

"John Wayne lived and had a great career with one lung," he said. "There is no reason why I can't do the same. It will take a little while for the right lung to pull the weight for the left lung so until then I will still need to use oxygen when I walk. I won't need it sitting or commentating races and to me that is the main thing. If given a choice between cancer or losing a lung I would say that I got the right end of the deal."

Parson's intense spirit was his trademark. It motivated him to rise from a poor childhood, leave behind a taxi driving job, and head straight to the top of NASCAR. His success is marked by his 1994 induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and his 1995 induction into the National Motorsports Press Association's Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame.

One of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers and the 1973 champion, Parsons retired from racing in 1988 and headed straight into a broadcasting career. He spent the past six years as a commentator for NBC and TNT and even continued to call races from the booth during his treatment. He hosted a weekly radio program and kept fans updated on his condition on his very own blog.

Judging by the comments left for Parsons on a January 8th post about his hospitalization, there was an abundance of love for this man, nicknamed BP by the NASCAR community.

"He was a great driver and a terrific broadcaster, but above anything else he was a kind and generous human being," said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports. "His character and spirit will define how he is remembered by all of us. Benny will be sorely missed."

Parson's death comes eight days after the death of NASCAR driver and Truck Series Champion Bobby Hamilton.

NASCAR is in the news -- because of the cancer battles of two of its favorites.

On Sunday, longtime NASCAR driver Bobby Hamilton died after a battle with head and neck cancer. His cancer was diagnosed in February 2006. He was 49.

It has also been reported that former NASCAR champion Benny Parsons has been in intensive care for two weeks at Carolinas Medical Center due to complications arising from lung cancer.

Parsons, 65 and a non-smoker since 1978, was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung in July 2006. Following treatment, he announced in October he had beaten the disease. But he was unable to attend a November ceremony in New York to accept the Myers Brothers Award for contributions to his sport. And on December 26, he entered the hospital.

"Parsons' family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from fans and the NASCAR community, and they encourage everyone to keep Benny in their thoughts and prayers," according to a statement issued on Parsons' behalf.

Parsons, a NASCAR television commentator with a weekly show on the radio network, was selected one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998 -- 10 years after his retirement -- in honor of his 21 wins in 526 starts.

It is estimated that 1.25 billion men and women currently smoke cigarettes. And if this trend holds steady, tobacco will kill 1 billion people by the end of the century -- 10 times the amount of people who died from tobacco in the 20th century. Every one in five cancer deaths results from tobacco use -- worldwide, that's 1.4 million tobacco-related deaths every year. And lung cancer remains the major cancer among the 10.9 million new cases that are diagnosed annually. All this comes from the Cancer Atlas -- updated and released today along with the Tobacco Atlas and published by the American Cancer Society with assistance from the International Union Against Cancer, World Health Organization, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While improving nutrition and reducing infection can dramatically reduce cancer rates, reducing tobacco use would have the greatest global affect the number of cancer deaths. And if action is taken now, 2 million lives could be saved each year by 2020 and 6.5 million lives by 2040.