Brad Parrott hardly ever makes the same mistake twice.
That partly is why the veteran crew chief left Baker Curb Racing in the lurch less than two weeks before the season opener in Daytona in order to join Rusty Wallace Racing.
At the end of the 2007 season, Parrott said Rusty Wallace asked him to come over and be the crew chief for his son, Steve Wallace, but Parrott declined the offer, thinking at the time he would have a long-term future with Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi has since shut down his Nationwide program and merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Baker Curb hired Parrott in January to be crew chief for its No. 27 Ford, which is to be driven by Greg Biffle. But when Parrott was apprised of a second opportunity to join Wallace -- and stay in the Charlotte area with his wife and two kids -- he took it. He announced his departure from Gary Baker's Nashville, Tenn., operation Tuesday night. Now, Parrott will lead Brendan Gaughan and RWR's No. 62 team in 2010.
"I never thought I would get another shot," Parrott said. "I really wanted to be with Rusty. It was a mistake on my part not joining him in 2007. I wasn't going to turn them down again. My biggest successes have come with him."
Parrott's first experience with Wallace came when he served as a tire specialist for Wallace and the famed No. 2 car at Penske Racing in the early 1990s. That experience includes Wallace's 1993 and '94 Cup Series seasons, which resulted in series-high win totals of 10 and eight, respectively.
Furthering the family reunion between the Parrotts and the Wallaces, Parrott's father and Wallace's crew chief at Penske during the 1993 and '94 seasons, Buddy Parrott, will serve as spotter for Gaughan and the No. 62 Toyota Camry during select races.
"It's been 16 years since my dad and I worked for Penske," Parrott said. "He enjoys going to races and he will be a great teacher for our young drivers."
