Robert Yates says he wants a big-name crew chief next season for his No. 38 team. Credit: Autostock

Yates wants big-name crew chief for No. 38

Sadler believes any crew chief would love to work with his team

DOVER, Del. -- Robert Yates Racing will likely go after a top-name crew chief to serve as the leader of Elliott Sadler's team next season, the team said Friday at Dover International Raceway.

The two-car operation moved Todd Parrott back to head Dale Jarrett's team this week. The two won the championship in 1999, but the pair split after the 2001 season.

	Dale Jarrett, left, and Elliott Sadler Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers RYR's Cup record Starts 879 Wins 56 Top-5s 265 Top-10s 410 Poles 43 Avg. Start 15.0 Avg. Finish 15.4

"Santa has got my wish list. I have one of the best teams in racing," Sadler said. "I want a leader that is able to come in and work with Todd.

"We have all sat down and thought of a couple of names and we will see what happens. We think a crew chief would love to work in this situation."

Parrott became Sadler's crew chief in Aug. 2003 and helped Sadler become a multiple winner on tour. Breaking up the Sadler-Parrott combination is risky, but the pair has struggled in recent months, with Sadler falling from third to 14th in points.

Both of RYR's cars missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup, and Sadler will run the final nine races with engineer Kevin Buskirk atop the pit box.

"I am just here on a temporary basis," Buskirk said. "We will gain back some of the momentum that we lost."

Since Parrott left, Jarrett has burned through a handful of crew chiefs. Jarrett and Mike Ford were together for a year in a half, but Ford quit the team at mid-season and bolted to Joe Gibbs Racing.

"I think back in May we saw that we needed to change up how we did things," team owner Robert Yates said. "We didn't have the cowboys to do it at the time. Elliott was third in points. We couldn't make a change there."

Yates hired veteran Bill Wilburn to replace Ford, but the personnel merry-go-round strained the entire organization.

"We have taken a hard look and we will keep making changes until we get there," team manager Eddie d'Hondt said. "When we made the changes, having a crew chief change in the middle of the season is very difficult. We started seeing that strain all over."

Yates admitted that his cars have gotten behind aerodynamically, but he says the team is working with Ford to fix that, and he says moving to the Fusion will help.

Head engine builder Doug Yates noted that the team's engines weren't the issue. The team has an engine alliance with Roush Racing, and all five of Roush's cars made the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"It answers the question; we feel the engine program is pretty solid," Doug Yates said. "There is a long list of things that make up a good race team, and when you can eliminate one of those variables, it's nice."