CONCORD, N.C. (AP) – After failing to qualify either Elliott Sadler or Dale Jarrett for NASCAR’s playoffs, Robert Yates Racing shook the teams up Tuesday and sent crew chief Todd Parrott back to work with Jarrett.

Parrott moves back to the No. 88 Ford, where he led Jarrett to the 1999 NASCAR championship. The two clicked from the start and won their very first race together, the 1996 Daytona 500.

They went on to win 26 races, including a second Daytona 500, and the championship. But Parrott left at the end of the 2002 season and Jarrett has not come close to recreating that chemistry – he’s switched crew chiefs seven times since Parrott left.

“We felt to improve the performance of the 88 team it was important to establish a leadership that has been lacking for the last few months,” car owner Robert Yates said. “Todd has a record that speaks for itself both with preparing race cars and making decisions in the pits. Todd has the skills, ability and talent to lead a race team, and he is committed to winning races.”

Parrott had been leading Sadler’s crew for just over two years, leading Sadler to a pair of victories and a spot in last year’s Chase for the championship.

Although the team was third in the points earlier this season, Sadler plummeted in the standings and failed to qualify for the Chase. Kevin Buskirk, an engineer on Sadler’s team, will finish the season as interim crew chief.

“In the business of NASCAR racing the responsibility to perform, both to ourselves and our sponsors, is and has become increasingly more important,” said Eddie DHondt, general manager of RYR. “We are making this change in an effort to spark both of our teams to the performance level expected of us.”

AP-ES-09-20-05 2017EDT