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Notebook Parrott brothers back together on No. 88Posted: Tuesday January 21, 2003 3:04 PMCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- There were no hard feelings when Todd Parrott fired younger brother Brad from his job at Robert Yates Racing. The elder Parrott was crew chief for the No. 88 Ford of Dale Jarrett and Brad was one of his crewmen when they parted company in October 2001. Now, Brad is the crew chief for Jarrett and Todd has stepped up to the new position of director of competition for the two-car Winston Cup team. "It was a good firing," the younger brother said Monday during a stop at the Yates race shop in suburban Mooresville on the first day of the UAW-GM Motorsports Media Tour. "I wasn't happy doing the things I was doing and Todd could see that. And, right then, there was no place for me to go on the team. It also allowed me to show the guys I can do some things." Brad was quickly hired by Roush Racing as crew chief for Jeff Burton's Busch Series team, which ran a partial schedule in 2002. Burton won five of 13 Busch races with Parrott directing the team. "I learned patience and I learned great race drivers win races," Brad said. "Besides, Todd and I have won more races together than we have apart." Now Brad is back with the Yates team and his elder brother couldn't be happier. "We won a championship [with Jarrett] in '99 and we've worked together for five of the seven years I've been [with Yates]," Todd said. "When I fired him, I expected he'd be back someday." Jarrett has also worked with the younger Parrott. "I've said a number of times that our race team was always better when he has been part of it," the driver said. "He brings energy and knowledge in certain areas to the team." A year ago, Todd stepped into the team manager's position with Jimmy Elledge taking over as crew chief of the 88. That arrangement lasted only part of the season, with Elledge saying that Parrott wasn't letting him do the job for which he had been hired. "I really didn't know Jimmy that well and it just didn't work," Todd said. "This time, I'm going to let the crew chief have it." Brad then surprised his older brother by saying that Buddy Parrott, their father and one of the most successful crew chiefs and team managers in NASCAR history, might also play a part in the team later this year. "He's on a two-month vacation right now and he's supposed to be retired, but I'll reach in my pocket to get him to work with us," Brad said. "He'll look at pit crew films and look at race films and give me his opinion of what we can do to makes things better."
Keep on truckin'UPS, the principal sponsor on Dale Jarrett's car since 2001, announced Monday it has signed a two-year extension with Robert Yates Racing. The original contract ran through the 2004 season and has now been extended through 2006. The Atlanta-based shipping company has teamed with Jarrett to make some of the most popular television commercials in sports, based on people asking when the 1999 Winston Cup champion will "drive the brown truck." "I suggested that UPS give me $1 for every time somebody asks me about driving the brown truck," Jarrett said, laughing. "It would amount to a substantial amount of money." A series of new commercials featuring Jarrett will be released during 2003.
Sign of the timesRay Evernham, who gained fame and fortune as crew chief for Jeff Gordon, has done away with that traditional position on his 2-year-old Evernham Motorsports team. The Dodges driven by Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield will each have a team director, a race engineer and a lead mechanic when the season opens Feb. 16 with the Daytona 500. "I'm not really changing anything. NASCAR itself is changing," Evernham said Monday. "The sport's gotten so critical and little things make a big difference. It used to be years ago the crew chief could be the lead mechanic, the aero guy, the shock guy, he could set the cars up, he could arrange the travel. "You can't do that any more. The areas have gotten so specialized that each person is special. You look at Formula One or Indy cars, the technology goes up and the competition gets closer. Everybody has to spend a lot more time studying these small areas. One man just can't do it any more." He said the team director will oversee the operation, the lead race engineer will pay attention to the chassis setups, the race strategy and gathering information on the car, and the lead mechanic will be responsible for making sure that nothing falls apart. "This allows each person to get better in certain areas," Evernham said.
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