572 - Buddy Parrott: "My Sport, My Love and My Job Was Always NASCAR Racing"

The Dale Jr. Download

Dale Earnhardt Jr. welcomes legendary NASCAR Crew Chief Buddy Parrott to the Dirty Mo Media Studio to learn more about the pivotal role he played in some of NASCAR’s greatest moments. Growing up in Gastonia, North Carolina, Buddy participated in competitive diving all through high school before finding his way to a race at Birmingham International Raceway on behalf of Huggins Tire Service. Buddy would take a job with the company working as a tire man for their NASCAR events, mounting tires for the entire Cup field on a regular basis. It was through this service that he met the legendary Harry Hyde, and not long after Buddy would approach him for an opportunity to work on his famed K&K Insurance Dodge team. Buddy explains that his time with Harry was invaluable, and he considered him to be his mentor, teaching him everything he knew about race cars and racing setups.

Buddy would make the decision to split from the team when Kentuckian Ferrel Harris came to the shop to purchase a racer and some Raymond Fox-prepared engines. While working with Harris, Buddy also spent time teaming up with Robert Gee to help prepare his dirt cars, which were chauffeured by none other than Carolina ace Hayward Plyler and a young Dale Earnhardt. Dale Jr. was surprised to learn that Buddy served as crew chief for his father’s 1976 Atlanta 500 attempt in a car owned by Johnny Ray, which was famously destroyed in a crash. Buddy would move on to the DiGard Motorsports outfit to team with Darrell Waltrip and take the NASCAR Cup scene by storm in the late 1970s. Listeners can hear all of this, plus more about Buddy’s time working on Harry Ranier’s Gray Ghost, helping Richard Petty score his 200th win, and the 1990 Daytona 500.

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