Two years ago at Darlington, he almost got into a pit road scuffle with his own father, Buddy, who was then crew chief for Jeff Burton. OK, maybe it's a character flaw. He said the word and he knows better. The fact that dozens of other people on pit road probably said the same word or worse last Sunday doesn't change anything, either. But the fine is a secondary issue.
Teams can scramble the radio signals fans now pick up on the scanners they bring to the track.
Crew chiefs can decline to talk to pit reporters during the race. Drivers can wave off interviews after on-track incidents. It doesn't take much to push everything down that road, one that's straight downhill toward greatly narrowed access for the fans. If you were sitting at home watching last weekend's race with your kids and they heard what Parrott said, you have a right to be upset. But television can take viewers into Parrott's world without hanging him out like he was last weekend.