Ford replaces Parker as Jarrett's crew chief

Dale Jarrett will have another new crew chief, with Mike Ford coming over from Evernham Motorsports to replace Shawn Parker.

	Mike Ford

The official announcement will be made sometime Friday, a team spokesman said.

Ford served as Bill Elliott's crew chief for the last three seasons, winning four times. Elliott closed out 2003 with a victory at North Carolina Speedway and a near-victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Elliott blew a tire while leading with a half-lap to go.

Jarrett had a horrible 2003 season, finishing 26th in the points, his lowest as a Winston Cup regular. Jarrett did score one victory, winning at Rockingham in the season's second race with Brad Parrott as crew chief.

Dale Jarrett  Driver Page  Merchandise

But Parrott was out six races later, replaced temporarily by team engineer Garth Finley. Parker was moved from Robert Yates Racing's No. 38 team in early May and finished out the season as crew chief.

Parker's wife, Tara, was killed in an automobile accident in September, though Parker missed only one race.

	Shawn Parker

After Jarrett's victory at Rockingham, he didn't score a single top-five finish the rest of the season. His best result was a trio of seventh-place finishes midway through the year.

Down the stretch, Jarrett finished outside the top 10 in the final 12 races of the season.

Elliott, meanwhile, had a strong finish to the year, climbing from 17th to ninth in the points with eight top-10s in the final 12 races.

Evernham Motorsports has yet to announce a replacement for Ford, though car owner Ray Evernham has been known to promote from within.

And there still is no word on Elliott's status for 2004. The veteran driver has been in the rumor mill for weeks as he contemplates retirement from the sport. Or, he and Evernham could be working out a deal for Elliott to drive part-time, perhaps with Kasey Kahne driving the races Elliott doesn't.