Posts Tagged ‘Drew Blickensderfer’

Todd Parrott has been named crew chief of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford, effective immediately.

Drew Blickensderfer, who has served as crew chief on the No. 17, driven by Matt Kenseth, since the start of the 2009 season, will assume a role in Roush Fenway’s research and development department.

Blickensderfer replaced as crew chief of No. 17 Ford

T. Parrott takes over after team finished eighth at Daytona

Kenseth finished eighth in the season-opening race at Daytona on Sunday.

Parrott, who won the Cup Series championship with Dale Jarrett in 1999, has the third-most wins — 29 — among active crew chiefs in the Cup Series.

Blickensderfer and Kenseth came out of the box hot in 2009, winning the first two races of the year, at Daytona and Fontana. However, that success was short-lived.

Kenseth, the 2003 Cup Series champion, struggled throughout the remainder of the season — only 10 top-10 finishes in the final 34 races — and posted a 15.4 average finish and also missed the Chase for the first time since the system was implemented in 2004. He finished 14th in points.

Parrott was given his first opportunity as crew chief in fall 1995, when he accepted a position at Robert Yates Racing to lead Ernie Irvan’s team. Parrott teamed up with Jarrett for the 1996 season.

Parrott also served as general manager for Robert Yates Racing briefly in 2003, then resumed crew chief duties for Elliott Sadler, David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil while with Yates.

Last year, Parrott was the crew chief for Bobby Labonte and the No. 96 team. The duo also worked together at Petty Enterprises.

NASCAR.com contributed to this report.

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