Yates Racing swaps crew chiefs
By Jeff Gluck
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Yates Racing will have a different look at crew chief this season.
Todd Parrott, who had been crew chief for David Gilliland, is now heading the efforts for new driver Travis Kvapil. Cully Barraclough will take over for Gilliland.
The change was made in part because Barraclough and Gilliland have a long history together. Barraclough once worked for Gilliland's father, Butch, when they were racing on the West Coast.
He was helping the younger Gilliland when the driver stunned the NASCAR world with a Busch Series victory at Kentucky in 2006.
"They go back, their families go back a long time," team owner Doug Yates said. "They raced together on the West Coast, so we felt like that would be a good combination."
The feeling was similar for the pairing of Parrott and Kvapil, who are both racing veterans (though young, Kvapil has been racing in NASCAR since 2001) while Gilliland drove his first full Cup season last year.
"It just seemed like the right thing to do," Yates said. "Having Todd with Travis, that's two guys that have been around the sport for some time. David showed some real signs of brightness, so we're real excited about this season. ... Having Cully work with him seemed like the natural thing to do."
Barraclough worked with Stephen Leicht in the Busch Series for most of last season before taking over as Ricky Rudd's Cup crew chief in the final few races.
Parrott said he didn't mind the switch and was willing to work with whatever driver the team needed.
"I told them I would be with whoever they want me to be with," he said. "They just felt like that's how they'd line everything up for this year."
Kvapil has never raced the car of tomorrow, but Parrott said he's catching on quickly during Daytona testing. The team was mid-pack during Tuesday afternoon's test session.
"[The] things that he's saying to me, I can relate to him and give him some feedback with the knowledge that I have, and he's catching on real quick," Parrott said.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- David Gilliland
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