This should be good news for you, team YATES!!! He always has been on of the best crew chiefs!


By Lee Spencer
THE SPORTING NEWS
Thursday, August 17, 2006


Life is all about choices, and Todd Parrott has made plenty in his 42 years. First there was the offer to play college golf - and his decision instead to follow the career path of his father, Buddy, a longtime crew chief and mechanic. It turned out to be a good decision.

After winning a championship as a crew member with Rusty Wallace in 1989, Parrott tagged along with Wallace to Penske Racing. Parrott couldn't pass up the opportunity to advance to crew chief with Ernie Irvan at Robert Yates Racing in 1995. When the opportunity opened to build Yates' No. 88 team from scratch with Dale Jarrett, Parrott jumped.

The two celebrated their coming-out party by winning the 1996 Daytona 500. They won three more races that season, including the Brickyard 400. In 1999, Parrott and Jarrett won the championship.

When the two parted ways after seven consecutive seasons of finishing in the top 10 in points, Parrott's office at Yates was so cluttered with celebratory hardware, it was nicknamed The Museum.

After taking nearly a year off from the road, Parrott joined Yates' No. 38 team at the end of the 2003 season and led Elliott Sadler into the Chase the next year.

After the 2005 season, Eddie D'Hondt was GM and Tommy Baldwin and Slugger Labbe moved into the crew-chief slots at RYR. "There wasn't room" for Parrott, so he returned to Petty Enterprises, where he had been a team member and his dad the crew chief for Richard Petty in 1984.

With Robbie Loomis returning to the Level Cross campus and Bobby Labonte in the driver's seat, the potential existed for Parrott to work his magic. There have been ups and downs, but Labonte has made serious gains in the No. 43 Dodge.

"They've scored more top 10s this season then they have in the last five years," Parrott said. "That team is motivated. They're focused and have direction. It's definitely getting better." That wasn't happening at Yates. D'Hondt, who Parrott doesn't feel deserves to be the fall guy at RYR, parted ways with the company in May. Announcements that both Jarrett and Sadler would be leaving soon followed. Then Baldwin and Labbe left. Other than the Yateses themselves, no leadership remained in the organization.

Last week, Parrott had another choice - stay with Petty or return to Yates. With the caliber of people on both teams, it wasn't easy, but Parrott considers the Yateses family, and when family calls, you go home.

Parrott doesn't have a job title yet. Doesn't need one. Just a clean sheet of paper and new shelves for The Museum.

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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Yeah, I'm glad that Parrott is back, I was totally bummed when he left before, I hope he stays this time!!!! He will be good for Gilliland, hopefully he'll be able to work some magic with D.J., but I'm not sure, D.J.'s head seems to be elsewhere.


is back!!!!

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Fly YATES Rockets

Yeah YATES, I tend to agree with you here, DJ's head does seem to be elsewhere! Most likely it is already in Walthrip's Toyota!

No doubt that Parrott will bring some long needed guidance to RYR. While I admit that I like Jarrett as a driver I feel that his day has come and gone. There are too many young guns in the arena now. When I see oldies like Bill Elliott return to the tracks I see yet another has been who will end up in 38th place. I hope DJ does well with Waltrip next year although I don't see Toyota being a championship stealer in '07.

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