Parrott: 'I Was in a Dark Moment'

 Crew chief Todd Parrott, who was suspended by NASCAR after failing a drug test and fired by Richard Petty Motorsports soon after, came clean about the circumstances of it yesterday.

"I was in a dark moment and it happened," Parrott told NASCAR Live host Eli Gold on Motor Racing Network. Parrott declined to reveal what banned substance he took. 

Gold asked Parrott if it was a long-time issue or something that happened that caused Parrott to be suspended. "It's just something that happened and my number came up," Parrott said. "Not a whole lot I can say. I feel bad about it, and I'm sorry for it and I'm ready to move on." Parrott said he's scheduled to meet with a counselor today to begin NASCAR's Road to Recovery program. "I have the support of my family and a lot of friends in the garage to go down this path,'' he said. "I'm sorry it came down to this, but it's a blessing, too ,that NASCAR has a path that helps you...to be able to get back to work."

Petty, speaking to reporters at the NASCAR Hall of Fame yesterday, said the incident was decided immediately, according to team policy.

"(The dismissal) was just automatic," Petty said. "When he done what he did, he did his own thing. All we've done is said, 'This is the way it's got to be.'" Petty said he was "really shocked" when Parrott failed a drug test and said he never saw the crew chief acting suspiciously. But because drivers and crew members put their lives on the line every weekend, Petty said, the team took a zero-tolerance approach to Parrott's offense. "One hundred percent ain't good enough, so if anyone breaks the rule, there ain't no room in our organization for that," Petty said.