Buddy Parrott

Last updated
Buddy Parrott
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1939-11-24) November 24, 1939 (age 84)
Gastonia, North Carolina
OccupationCrew chief
Sport
Sport NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

James Kenneth "Buddy" Parrott is an American NASCAR crew chief. Over 18 years, Parrott won 49 races. [1] Parrott's sons Todd and Brad also served as crew chiefs. [2]

Career

Parrott's career began in 1968 when he became a tire changer for Huggins Tire, a Goodyear distributor. In 1970, Parrott worked under Harry Hyde for Bobby Isaac; that year Isaac won the Grand National championship. Parrott worked for Hyde's No. 71 team through 1974, then in 1975 he became the crew chief for Ferrel Harris. [2]

In 1977 he was hired by DiGard Motorsports. He worked under David Ifft as crew chief for Darrell Waltrip. In May 1977, following victory at the Winston 500, Ifft left the team and Parrott was promoted to full-time crew chief. The combination became one of the strongest in Winston Cup racing as Waltrip and Parrott won ten races in the 1977–1978 seasons. In 1979, Waltrip finished a close second in points. After winning four races in the first half of 1980, Parrott was fired from the DiGard team; he finished the season with the Harry Ranier team and driver Buddy Baker. [2]

Parrott was hired by Charlotte medical doctor Ron Benfield as crew chief for a team he had formed for 1981. For three seasons Parrott was crew chief of Benfield's No. 98 racecars driven by Johnny Rutherford, Morgan Shepherd, Rusty Wallace and Joe Ruttman. [1] In 1984, Parrott was hired by Mike Curb to be Richard Petty's crew chief. Parrott and Petty won at Dover, and was chief for Petty's 200th career victory in the 1984 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. [3] In 1987 & 1988, Parrott joined Jocko's Racing and became a part-time crew chief for the No. 63 team. Maggiacomo was involved in Bobby Allison's career-ending accident and parted ways with the team shortly after. In 1990 later, Parrott joined Derrike Cope of Bob Whitcomb Racing's team, and helped him win the 1990 Daytona 500. [2]

In 1992, Parrott was reunited with Wallace at Penske Racing, winning 19 races together. Three years later, he joined Diamond Ridge Motorsports to work with Steve Grissom. However, Parrott left the team citing business disagreements with owner Gary Bechtel. In 1997, he joined Jeff Burton's crew, and helped him win the inaugural race at Texas Motor Speedway. Later that season, Parrott was fined $20,000 by NASCAR for improperly mounted roof flaps prior to the Winston 500 at Talladega. [4] In 1998, he became the team manager for Mark Martin's Roush Racing team. At California Speedway that year, Parrott tripped over cords in the pit box, fracturing his ribs, but still celebrated Martin's victory in the 1998 California 500. He remained with the team until his retirement in 2001 after 34 years of service. [2]

In 2004, Parrott was inducted into the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Petty</span> American racing driver (born 1937)

Richard Lee Petty, nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 43 Plymouth/Pontiac for Petty Enterprises. He is one of the members of the Petty racing family. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times, while also winning a record 200 races during his career. This included winning the Daytona 500 a record seven times and winning a record 27 races in one season (1967).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrell Waltrip</span> American racing driver and commentator (born 1947)

Darrell Lee Waltrip is an American motorsports analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 11 Chevrolet for Junior Johnson. Waltrip is a three-time Cup Series champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Hyde</span> NASCAR crew chief

Harry Hyde was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired the Harry Hogge character in the movie Days of Thunder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Yates (NASCAR owner)</span> NASCAR team owner

James Robert Yates was a NASCAR engine builder and former owner of the Sprint Cup Series team Yates Racing, owned since 2007 by his son Doug. He purchased the team from Harry Ranier in 1988, with driver Davey Allison. In 2018, Yates was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Hammond (NASCAR)</span> American auto racing personality

Jeffrey L. Hammond is an American NASCAR personality and crew chief. Currently, he is a commentator for NASCAR's coverage on Fox Sports. He is also referred to as Hollywood Hammond by his Fox colleague Darrell Waltrip. He is an alumnus of East Carolina University.

The 1976 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Series was the 28th season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 5th modern era season of the Grand National series and sixth under R. J. Reynolds sponsorship through its Winston cigarette brand. The season began on Sunday, January 18 and ended on Sunday, November 21. Cale Yarborough, driving the #11 Junior Johnson Holly Farms Chevrolet scored his first of three consecutive NASCAR Grand National Series Winston Cup Championships. Skip Manning was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

The 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 41st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 18th modern-era Cup season. It began February 12 and ended November 19. Rusty Wallace of Blue Max Racing won the championship. This was the first year that every Winston Cup race had flag to flag coverage, with almost all of them being televised live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Parrott</span> American stock car racing crew chief

Todd T. Parrott is an American stock car racing crew chief who works for Fast Track Racing as the crew chief of their No. 11 car driven by Zachary Tinkle full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series. He is most well-known for his long tenure as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief at Robert Yates Racing crew chiefing Dale Jarrett's No. 88 Ford. The duo won 27 races together as well as the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 40th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 40th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 17th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 7 at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 20 at the Atlanta International Speedway. Bill Elliott of Melling Racing won the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 39th season of NASCAR stock car racing

The 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 39th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 16th modern-era cup series.

The 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 36th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 13th modern-era Cup series season. It began on Sunday, February 19 and ended on Sunday, November 18. Terry Labonte was crowned champion at the end of the season. This was the final year for Chrysler until Dodge returned in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Nelson (auto racing)</span> NASCAR crew chief

Gary Nelson is an auto racing manager, former crew chief and President of Coyote Cars. He was Bobby Allison's crew chief for his 1983 NASCAR Cup championship. He was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006. He is the current team manager of Action Express Racing and winner of 6 IMSA national Championships in 9 years since 2014.

DiGard Racing was a championship-winning race team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series that had its most success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The team won the 1983 Winston Cup championship with Bobby Allison at the wheel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 31st season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 31st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 8th modern-era Cup series. It began on Sunday, January 14, and ended on Sunday, November 18. Richard Petty won his seventh and final Winston Cup championship, winning by 11 points over Darrell Waltrip. Dale Earnhardt was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Firecracker 400</span> Auto race held at Daytona International Speedway in 1984

The 1984 Firecracker 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 4, 1984, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Gibson (auto racing)</span> NASCAR crew chief

Tony Gibson is a retired American auto racing crew chief. He last worked for the #41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven by Kurt Busch in the NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He was the crew chief for Busch's 2017 Daytona 500 victory. Gibson worked as car chief on Alan Kulwicki’s title team of 1992 and was also the car chief on Jeff Gordon’s title teams of 1998 and 2001. With Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, Gibson, was the crew chief for racers such as Steve Park, Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and at Stewart-Haas Racing for Ryan Newman from 2009 to the majority of 2012 and Danica Patrick for 2013 to most of 2014 before swapping drivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 32nd season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 32nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 9th modern-era NASCAR Cup season. It was the final year with the Gen 2 car. The season began on Sunday, January 13 and ended on Sunday, November 15. Dale Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup championship, winning by 19 points over Cale Yarborough. Jody Ridley was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

The 1978 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Series was the 30th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 7th modern era NASCAR Cup series. The season began on Sunday, January 22 and ended on Sunday, November 19. Cale Yarborough driving the Junior Johnson #11 First National City Travelers Checks Oldsmobile won his then record third consecutive NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Winston Cup. Ronnie Thomas was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year in a tight battle with Roger Hamby.

Jimmy Makar was the Senior Vice President of Racing Operations at Joe Gibbs Racing. Born in Morristown, New Jersey, he was previously a crew chief for Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte.

Bob Whitcomb Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that formerly competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. As a successor to DiGard Motorsports, the team achieved its most prominent victory in the 1990 Daytona 500 with driver Derrike Cope. In the same year, they secured a second race win with Cope at the wheel. From at least 1989 until 1990, the team had a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. The team shut down in 1993.

References

  1. 1 2 "Buddy Parrott". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Madding, Allen (2008-04-08). "Racer Profile: Buddy Parrott". Insider Racing News. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  3. ↑ "Crew chief Buddy Parrott Looks Back On Richard Petty's 200th Win". Daytona International Speedway . 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  4. ↑ "NASCAR Fines Buddy Parrott". The Auto Channel. 1997-05-14. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.