DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR has indefinitely suspended Todd Parrott, the crew chief for Sprint Cup Series driver Aric Almirola, for violating its substance-abuse policy.
NASCAR announced its decision Thursday against Parrott, who works for Richard Petty Motorsports.
"We have an expectation of all RPM employees to conduct themselves at the highest level of professionalism and within the competitive confines as set forth by NASCAR," said Sammy Johns, RPM's vice president of operations and competition. "We are very disappointed that one of our employees did not meet our expectations and we completely support NASCAR, their policies and final decisions when it comes to the substance abuse policy."
Johns will handle crew chief duties for the No. 43 Ford this weekend at Talladega and until further notice.
Parrott was the longtime crew chief for Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett when Jarrett was at Robert Yates Racing. He guided him to two Daytona 500 victories, in 1996 and 2000, and wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1996 and 1999.
The duo also paired to win the 1999 Cup championship. Parrott also developed many of NASCAR's future crew chiefs, including Mike Ford, Jimmy Elledge and younger brother, Brad.
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