Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Todd T. Parrott |
Nationality | American |
Born | Charlotte, North Carolina | February 9, 1964
Spouse | Billie Kiser-Parrott |
Sport | |
Country | United States |
Sport | ARCA Menards Series / ARCA Menards Series East |
Team | 11. Fast Track Racing |
Todd T. Parrott (born February 9, 1964) 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.
Parrott also worked with Ernie Irvan, Elliott Sadler, and David Gilliland while at Yates. Over his career, Parrott has also worked for Petty Enterprises, Hall of Fame Racing (which was in a partnership with Yates), Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports (the successor team to Petty Enterprises), Tommy Baldwin Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Circle Sport, Leavine Family Racing, and Premium Motorsports. Parrott won two races with Sadler in 2004, and his last two wins as a crew chief came with Marcos Ambrose at RPM in 2011 and 2012.
He last served as a crew chief in 2020 and at the time was one of the most successful active crew chief in the Cup Series with 31 career wins, behind Chad Knaus (81 wins) and Paul Wolfe (32).
Parrott spent his early years working with his father Buddy, and brother Brad for DiGard Motorsports, and Curb Motorsports. Todd and Brad would then go to work for car owner and legendary drag racer Raymond Beadle and the Blue Max team under crew chief Barry Dodson. Both brothers were crew members on Rusty Wallace's 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship team. Following the disbanding of the Blue Max team after the 1990 Winston Cup season the Parrott brothers would follow Wallace to the newly formed Penske Racing South, where Todd worked as a chassis specialist and tire manager, as well as a tire carrier during pit stops. Two thirds of the way through the 1992 season Todd and Brad would be reunited with their father Buddy, who was hired as Wallace's crew chief. Together they formed the core of the crew that won the 1993 Unocal Pit Crew Championship, and 19 races between 1992 and 1994. Buddy departed at the end of 1994, while Todd would remain at Penske until October 1995, with Brad following Todd to Yates soon after. [1] [2]
Parrott's first crew chief position was working with Ernie Irvan in 1995 at Yates Racing on the new #88 Ford for two races. When the No. 88 went full time in 1996, Parrott became the crew chief for Dale Jarrett, winning the 1999 Cup Series championship. After 2002, Parrott worked for periods with several Yates drivers including Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Travis Kvapil, and David Gilliland.
In 2006, Parrott left RYR to crew chief the famous No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge, driven by Bobby Labonte, but returning to Yates during the season to work with rookie David Gilliland, who had just replaced Sadler in the No. 38 car.
After Parrott returned to RYR, he and Gilliland won the pole for the Talladega race. The pair remained together for the entire 2007 season. However, for 2008, Parrott was moved to the other Yates car, the No. 28 (formerly No. 88), with Travis Kvapil. [3] For 2009, Parrott was moved Hall of Fame Racing, a satellite team to Yates Racing which switched from Toyota to Ford that year after previously having an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. HOF would begin operating out the Yates shop in 2009. The driver was Bobby Labonte, who Parrott reunited with after previously working with him in 2006, but once again, the duo failed to make it through a full season, and Parrott was replaced on the No. 96 car by Ben Leslie during the season. Both Hall of Fame Racing and Yates Racing would close down after the 2009 season due to lack of sponsorship, with Yates equipment and owner points being inherited by Front Row Motorsports.
Parrott remained in the Ford family in 2010, initially working the speedway program in the Research and Development department of Roush Fenway Racing but quickly became Matt Kenseth's crew chief on the No. 17 after the 2010 Daytona 500, replacing Drew Blickensderfer, who was reassigned to Carl Edwards' No. 60 car in the Nationwide Series. [4] Midway through the season, however, Parrott was released, and he joined Richard Petty Motorsports (which had an alliance with Roush at the time) starting at Chicagoland Speedway as crew chief for Elliott Sadler's No. 19. After RPM reduced from four cars to two for 2011, he moved to the No. 9 team and driver Marcos Ambrose. Two-thirds through the 2012 season, RPM's teams switched crew chiefs with Parrott going to the No. 43 of Aric Almirola, [5] where he remained for 2013.
On October 17, 2013, it was announced that Parrott had been indefinitely suspended due to failing to meet NASCAR's substance abuse policy. [6] He was released by Richard Petty Motorsports on October 21. [7]
On February 3, 2014, Parrott was named the crew chief of the No. 36 Chevrolet of Tommy Baldwin Racing, [8] driven by Reed Sorenson. [9] On December 13, 2014, it was announced that Parrott would be the Competition Director for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. [10] Parrott was also named the crew chief on RCR's part-time No. 33 Cup Series car, working nine races for drivers Ty Dillon, Michael Annett, and Brian Scott. Parrott also substituted for Luke Lambert on the RCR No. 31 Cup car of Ryan Newman for six races, while Lambert served a suspension. [11]
Parrott began 2016 working five races on the No. 95 Cup entry of Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing, eventually being named full-time crew chief in October for drivers Ty Dillon and Michael McDowell. He continued in that position for most of 2017 as well.
In the 2018 season, Parrott moved to Premium Motorsports to crew chief their No. 55 car, where he reunited with Reed Sorenson. He also worked with Ross Chastain (on the No. 15 in one race), J. J. Yeley, Jeffrey Earnhardt, D. J. Kennington, and Jesse Little that year. The No. 55 also switched numbers to the No. 7 during the season after Premium started sharing owner points with NY Racing Team, who previously used the car number by themselves.
After not crew chiefing for any team in 2019, Parrott returned to the pit box in 2020 as the crew chief for B. J. McLeod Motorsports in that team's first season in the Cup Series. After working ten races with the team, Parrott finished out the season with Rick Ware Racing, crew chiefing for various drivers within the organization.
In 2023, Parrott became a crew chief for ARCA team Fast Track Racing and he crew chiefed their No. 11 car driven by Zachary Tinkle full-time in the East Series and part-time in the main ARCA Series. He returned to crew chief Tinkle in that car in those series in 2024. [12]
Parrott is the son of former Richard Petty crew chief Buddy Parrott and older brother of former Carl Edwards Xfinity crew chief Brad Parrott, who worked for Roush, Ganassi, and Rusty Wallace Racing, among other teams. Brad twice served brief stints as crew chief for Dale Jarrett in the Cup Series in 2003 and 2008. [13] [14]
All of Parrott's career as a crew chief has been in the NASCAR Cup Series, except for when he was also the crew chief of the Yates Racing No. 90 Busch Series car in 2005 for five races, four with Elliott Sadler and one with Dale Jarrett.
Travis Wade Kvapil is an American professional stock car driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports.
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ran teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, Trans-Am Series and IMSA Camel GT. The team currently fields the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse full-time for driver/co-owner Brad Keselowski and the No. 17 Mustang full-time for Chris Buescher as well as the No. 60 part-time for multiple drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partnership with Jimmy Means and restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, with Jenkins becoming the full team owner in 2005. In the Cup Series, FRM currently fields two Ford Mustang Dark Horse teams full-time: The No. 34 for Michael McDowell and the No. 38 for Todd Gilliland as well as the No. 36 part-time for Kaz Grala. In the Truck Series, they field the No. 38 Ford F-Series for Layne Riggs.
David Leonard Gilliland is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Since 2017, he has operated Tricon Garage, a team that races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team has also competed in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series West and CARS Tour.
Trent T. Owens is an American stock car racing driver and crew chief who works for Kaulig Racing as the crew chief for their No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the NASCAR Cup Series, driven by Daniel Hemric. He was previously a driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series. He is also the nephew of seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty. Owens previously crew chiefed for Petty's team as well as JTG Daugherty Racing, Braun Racing/Turner Motorsports/Turner Scott Motorsports and Bobby Gerhart Racing.
Michael “Mike” Ford is an American NASCAR crew chief from Morristown, Tennessee who most recently was known to be working for RSS Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Yates Racing was an American stock car racing team that competed in NASCAR through the 2009 season, after which it merged into Richard Petty Motorsports. Previously known as Robert Yates Racing, the team was owned by Doug Yates, who has officially owned the team since his father Robert's retirement on December 1, 2007. The Yates family owned the team since purchasing it from Harry Ranier and J. T. Lundy in October 1988.
Wood Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 1950 by brothers Ray Lee, Clay, Delano, Glen, and Leonard Wood. Today, it is owned by the children and grandchildren of Glen Wood -- Len Wood, Eddie Wood, Kim Hall, Jon Wood, Jordan Hicks, and Keven Wood. From 2006 to 2008, the team was merged with Tad and Jodi Geschickter's JTG Racing. The Wood Brothers Racing Team holds the unique distinction of being the oldest active team in NASCAR, having fielded cars since 1950. They are known for their long relationship with Ford Motor Company, and the long-standing use of the number 21 on their main car. The team currently fields the No. 21 Ford Mustang full-time for Harrison Burton and has a technical alliance with Team Penske.
Robert Douglas Yates is a race car engine builder, former NASCAR team owner, and mechanic. He is the son of championship team owner and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Robert Yates and formerly operated Yates Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Yates currently is the President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines, the primary builder of Ford engines in the top-two NASCAR series ; as well as Ford Performance teams in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series. Yates has a wife, Whitney, and four children.
Richard "Slugger" Labbe is an American technical consultant who currently works for Toyota Racing Development. He had previously been employed in NASCAR as a crew chief for Yates Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Richard Petty Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and others. He has also previously served as an analyst for NASCAR on NBC.
Patrick John Tryson is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for B. J. McLeod Motorsports as the crew chief for their No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro, which is driven by B. J. McLeod.
Curb Racing is a former NASCAR team competing mainly in the Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series from 1984 to 2011. The team was owned by Mike Curb, CEO of Curb Records and 45th Lieutenant Governor of California. Curb also had numerous business partners affiliated with his NASCAR operations, including Gary Baker, Cary Agajanian, John Andretti, and Donald Laird. The team fielded cars for several notable NASCAR drivers, including Richard Petty, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, and Greg Biffle.
The 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series was the 32nd season of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season was contested over thirty-three races and started on February 23, 2013 at Daytona International Speedway, with the DRIVE4COPD 300, and ended on November 16 with the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing won the Drivers' Championship, becoming the first driver in the three major NASCAR series to do so without recording a win. The No. 22 entry of Penske Racing won the Owners' Championship, while Ford won the Manufacturers' Championship.
The 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 34th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. It began with the Alert Today Florida 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, and ended with the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 21. Chase Elliott entered the 2015 season as the defending series champion. Chris Buescher won the championship. The 2015 season marked two major changes; Comcast's cable brand Xfinity replaced Nationwide Insurance as title sponsor of the series, while Fox, Fox Sports 1, NBC and NBCSN broadcast the series' races, replacing the ESPN networks and ABC.
The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 35th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19. Daniel Suárez of Joe Gibbs Racing won the championship, becoming the first non-American to win a title in NASCAR's top 3 divisions.
Lucas A. Lambert is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Spire Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Carson Hocevar.
Roush Fenway Racing's Xfinity Series operation began in 1992 with the No. 60 driven by Mark Martin. The No. 60 team has been dominant throughout its history, amassing many wins with Martin; three driver's championships with Greg Biffle in 2002, Carl Edwards in 2007, and Chris Buescher in 2015; and an owner's championship with Edwards in 2011. The No. 6 team won back-to-back driver's championships in 2011 & 2012 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Following the departures of Ryan Reed, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric, Roush's Xfinity program was closed following the 2018 season.
The 2021 ARCA Menards Series East was the 35th season of the ARCA Menards Series East, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began on February 8 at New Smyrna Speedway with the Jeep Beach 175 and ended on September 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Bush's Beans 200. Sammy Smith and Joe Gibbs Racing won the series championship. JGR's No. 18 car, driven by Smith and Ty Gibbs, won all but one race during the season.
The 2022 ARCA Menards Series was the 70th season of the ARCA Menards Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Lucas Oil 200 on February 19 and ended with the Shore Lunch 200 at Toledo Speedway on October 8.
Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded as a result of the merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) and Petty Enterprises, with former Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool F.C. owner George Gillett having a controlling interest in the organization. In late 2009, the team merged with Yates Racing and consequently switched to Ford for the 2010 season. Evernham had no involvement in the team by this time.