Roush Fenway Racing dropped a small bombshell on an otherwise quiet Wednesday when it announced that Todd Parrott would be taking over as crew chief of the 17 Sprint Cup Team of driver Matt Kenseth.
In a team announcement “Drew Blickensderfer, who has served as crew chief on the No. 17 since the start of the 2009 season, will assume a role in Roush Fenway’s research and development department.”
Matt Kenseth had celebrated two straight wins with Blickensderfer last year including the Daytona 500 and California 500. Usually crew chief changes occur late in the season.
Todd Parrott, who won a Sprint Cup championship with Dale Jarrett in 1999, is the third winningest active crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 29 career wins.
Matt Kenseth had worked with Robbie Reiser since 1997, then moved to Roush Racing with Reiser as his crew chief and won the last NASCAR Cup title, in 2003, before the Chase to the Cup rules were announced. Kenseth and Reiser were tied together like bread and butter until the end of 2008 when Jack Roush moved Reiser to role of General Manager.
In a team announcement “Drew Blickensderfer, who has served as crew chief on the No. 17 since the start of the 2009 season, will assume a role in Roush Fenway’s research and development department.”
Matt Kenseth had celebrated two straight wins with Blickensderfer last year including the Daytona 500 and California 500. Usually crew chief changes occur late in the season.
Todd Parrott, who won a Sprint Cup championship with Dale Jarrett in 1999, is the third winningest active crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 29 career wins.
Matt Kenseth had worked with Robbie Reiser since 1997, then moved to Roush Racing with Reiser as his crew chief and won the last NASCAR Cup title, in 2003, before the Chase to the Cup rules were announced. Kenseth and Reiser were tied together like bread and butter until the end of 2008 when Jack Roush moved Reiser to role of General Manager.