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Tag: Greg Zipadelli

  • Zipadelli to serve as Harvick’s crew chief at Talladega

    Zipadelli to serve as Harvick’s crew chief at Talladega

    Greg Zipadelli is slated to serve as an interim crew chief for Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series Playoff event at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Zipadelli, a two-time Cup championship-winning crew chief with 34 career victories, serves as competition director for Stewart-Haas Racing. He will be filling in for Rodney Childers, who will not be participating this weekend at Talladega after Harvick’s car was found with two lug nuts not secured following last weekend’s Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In addition to serving his one-race suspension, Childers is anticipated to be fined $20,000 from NASCAR.

    With Zipadelli serving as Harvick’s crew chief, veteran Tony Gibson will be serving as competition director for all SHR operations this weekend.

    Talladega will mark Zipadelli’s first time serving as an interim crew chief this season. The previous season, he served as an interim crew chief for six NASCAR national touring series events (four with Chase Briscoe in the Xfinity Series and two with Clint Bowyer in the Cup Series). During the six-race schedule, Zipadelli guided Briscoe and the No. 98 SHR Ford Mustang team to three victories (Homestead-Miami Speedway and Pocono Raceway in June along with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in July).

    Currently, Harvick, who finished ninth in the previous Cup event at Las Vegas, is ranked in 10th place in the Cup Playoff standings and is seven points below the top-eight cutline. While he has yet to record his first victory of this season, he has achieved eight top-five results and 20 top-10 results as he is nearing 750 Cup career starts.

    The upcoming Cup Playoff event at Talladega is scheduled to occur on Sunday, October 3, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Exclusive: First-Seasons with Greg Zipadelli

    Exclusive: First-Seasons with Greg Zipadelli

    In this edition of Speedway Media’s first-seasons column, we caught up with former NASCAR Crew Chief and now Vice President of Competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, Greg Zipadelli. He discusses how he became a crew chief in NASCAR, how he connected with Joe Gibbs Racing, his success with Tony Stewart, and more.

    SM: You burst onto the NASCAR scene in the early 90s when you were only 21-years-old as a crew chief for your family team in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with Mike McLaughlin in 1988. The team advanced to the Busch North Series in the early 90s and had success. What drew you to make a career in racing and why did you choose the role of crew chief versus being a driver?

    GZ: “I don’t know, I just always remember being three or four years old going to the races because my uncle, he always owned an asphalt modified and ran in New England, my dad built the motors in the early days and the car was kept in our house a little bit so I was just around it,” Zipadelli said.

    “I always liked working on them (cars), that seemed to be my comfort zone. I just never had a desire to drive. I never had money to speak of to build my own car or even try that. I just don’t know, I didn’t have a lot to desire (to drive a car) I always enjoyed working on them more.”

    SM: You had a lot of success early on in your career, winning a combined eight races in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Why did you have so much success in your career as you started?

    GZ: “Well, I had been involved early on when I was working on them,” he said. “I was just young as a crew chief. I think when a lot of people come into the sport young, they have a different mindset. I didn’t have any bad habits or notions of this is what works. It was like, ‘let’s try this. Let’s do that.’

    “I was working on the same car when Brett Bodine came to work for us. With Mike (McLaughlin), we ran (NASCAR) Busch North Cars. Mikey was doing really well at that time and him and I hit it off.”

    SM: After spending some time in the Modified Tour and Busch North Tour, your first major break came in 1997 as a crew chief for Mike Stefanik in the Nazareth race. Unfortunately, your day ended early due to a crash. But, in the weeks leading up to that event, were you anxious or nervous about working as a crew chief in the Busch Series knowing it was your big break?

    GZ: In ’88, ’89, ’90, we ran the Modified and then ’91 we ran with a limited schedule with McLaughlin,” Zipadelli said. “We were kind of dabbling with the Busch North Car, going back and forth. We then went Busch North racing for a few years. McLaughlin was there for a few years and then Stefanik came and took the ride.”

    “I had crew chiefed all those years in the Busch North Tour. We did a lot of things together as friends.”

    SM: Following the ‘97 season in the K&N East Series, you were on a one-year hiatus before returning to the sport full-time crew as a crew chief for one of the up-and-coming drivers of the sport, Tony Stewart. How did you connect with Joe Gibbs Racing and get paired with Stewart for your first season in Cup?

    GZ: “So, in ’92 and ’93, I moved down and worked for Todd Bodine in the Busch Series, but I still owned a house in New York with Mike McLaughlin,” he said. “That’s when I took McLaughlin and said ‘come on back here. We’ll put you full-time’ and so I packed up and moved home.

    “Honestly, it felt like I never accomplished something in the Busch North Tour. I wanted to win a championship in that series before I left to crew chief in the Cup Series.

    “I went to work for Jeff Burton and I built shocks, changed tires, I was the car chief for that role in that year (1998). We were parked next to the 18 (Bobby Labonte) and I got to meet with Jimmy Makar and they were starting their second team and he asked if I was interested in working for their second team. I met Jimmy at the old Cracker Barrel and we hung out for a while and talked.

    “That afternoon, I got a call from Joe Gibbs and he asked if I could meet him at Denny’s in Huntersville, North Carolina and we sat down and just talked. At that time, I could do anything on a racecar. Jimmy was talking to me about doing shocks and car chiefing that team. However, a day later, Joe called me back and asked me if I was interested in the crew chief job. It literally happened that quick. I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded with a lot of great drivers in my life. With that being said, it was fun and we had a lot of fun.”

    SM: Do you remember your first conversations with Tony Stewart? How did that all become about?

    GZ: “I talked to Joe (Gibbs) and I accepted the offer,” Zipadelli said. “Afterward, he gave me Tony’s number and I gave him a call. (Tony) was still in Columbus, Indiana. I called him and Tony had a bunch of people over at his place playing pool and we talked for a quite bit. I don’t know when (we met), but it wasn’t long after that where we went down to Daytona and started working the test session.

    “Tony wasn’t very involved in what went on with the team, he would just show up and drive. My personality was just to take ownership of everything and being responsible, it worked good for us.”

    SM: Your first Daytona experience was that year and your driver was on the front row in your first gig as a crew chief in the Cup Series. Even though you, unfortunately, finished 28th, 19 laps down, do you have good memories of that experience? Do you remember your thoughts when you first entered the track and experienced all of the excitement that racing at Daytona brings? Did you look forward to it and did you feel ready or were you nervous?

    GZ: “Oh gosh, there’s always nerves,” he said. “To roll down to Daytona, we didn’t have any points. Back then, you had 50 cars (show up and qualify) and we had to qualify our way in. Fortunately, we tested and had a really good racecar and qualified on the outside pole. However, we had an issue with the intake manifold and we ended up not running very well in that race.”

    SM: At the Martinsville race that season, you qualified on the pole with Stewart and were a part of helping the team gain momentum with a string of top-five finishes, with the exception of Richmond. Was there a particular moment during the ‘99 season when you and the team began to get comfortable with the car or was there still a learning curve as the season progressed?

    GZ: “I’ll be honest with you, I’m always a believer that there is a learning curve,” Zipadelli said. “I don’t know, if the learning curve ever ends, you’re always trying to adjust. There was a time during midseason, I don’t know when exactly, but I think it was the Loudon race that we should have won but ran out of gas. At that point, we realized, we can do this but we just have to clean up the loose ends. Winning a Cup race is hard.

    “I learned a lot and I still beat myself up over it. Shortly after, we won Richmond, then Phoenix and Homestead. We had a very successful rookie season.”

    SM: You got your first Cup Series win at Richmond as Stewart dominated the race leading 333 of the 400 laps. What does that victory mean to you today and have you ever had a chance to go back and re-watch that race?

    GZ: “No, I haven’t been able to re-watch that win,” he said. “I haven’t done a good job in my life of going back to enjoy those special moments. It’s kind of been, what’s next and working harder to go to the next race.

    “As far as that moment, it was surreal. We ran really well that night. That night, we closed the deal.”

    SM: You and the team finished fourth in the points standings in 1999. Did finishing fourth in your first season exceed your expectations especially after earning two more wins at Phoenix and Homestead?

    GZ: “Oh, absolutely,” Zipadelli said. “I don’t know if there’s anyone who has ever had that kind of season. If you go back and look, I don’t know if anyone has won three races and finish fourth (in the standings) in a rookie year as we did.”

    SM: When you reflect on your career, are there any races that you wish you could go back to and have a do-over, such as a win that got away? Is there one race in particular that stands out?

    GZ: “There’s a few that got away from us that we never did win,” he said. “A couple of Daytona 500s where we had some good racecars, good opportunities, but things always seem to get taken away from us at the end of the day. It is what it is at the end of the day.”

    SM: Do you collect memorabilia from your career? If so, what do you have in your collection that reminds you of your early years in the sport?

    GZ: “I have some articles that were done,” Zipadelli said. “I try to keep a shirt or firesuit every year that I crew chief. Other than that, not a lot. some collectible cars that we used to get all the paint schemes. I’ve got a few hoods in my shop, just the normal stuff.”

    SM: Do you have a favorite victory or two from your career? What were your favorite wins and why?

    GZ: “Obviously, the first Indy win for sure because that was more of a relief than excitement,” Zippadelli said. “Tony put a lot of pressure on himself to go out and perform and we had a good racecar that day. Without the Loudon win, the Indy win is definitely a highlight.”

    SM: What do the Winston Cup championships in ‘02 and ‘05 mean to you and were they the highlights of your career?

    GZ: “Yeah, for a kid to grow up in New England and have the opportunity to work yourself through the ranks, I mean at the time, (winning the championship) was pretty special,” he said. “During that period, there were some tough characters you were racing against, some of the greats of the sport. We were fortunate enough to have that success early on.”

    SM: Do you miss working as a crew chief?

    GZ: “I do. The ups and downs, the adrenaline, making good calls and bad calls. I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I do I honestly, sincerely miss it.”

    SM: It’s hard to believe your first start as a crew chief came 33 years ago. If time travel was possible, what would a 54-year-old Greg Zipadelli tell a 21-year-old Greg Zipadelli? Is there anything you would do differently?

    GZ: “Man, I don’t know,” the two-time Cup Series champion crew chief said as he reflected on his career. “You always look back and think if I can go back and know what I know today, how much could you do? I don’t know if I would have a whole lot to change. I was an extremely dedicated hard worker, very motivated. I think I would do the same things.

    “Would I go back and do it all over again today? Definitely, I would. Honestly, I don’t know if there’s anything I could change. I would have to really think about that. I had a lot of fun crew chiefing for 33 years and having that success. I was fortunate to meet a lot of good people and make really good friends. I don’t think I would script it (my career) that much different.”

    Fans of Greg Zipadelli can follow him on Twitter and visit his website here.

    Throughout Zipadelli’s Cup Series career, the New Britain, Connecticut native has made 468 starts, earned 34 career victories, 143 top fives, 237 top-10 finishes and won 13 poles. Additionally, he won two Cup Series championships with former NASCAR driver and Hall of Famer Tony Stewart in 2002 and 2005.

    Special thanks to Greg Zipadelli for taking the time out of his busy schedule to conduct the interview.

  • The 2013 Future of Stewart Haas Racing According to Greg Zipadelli

    The 2013 Future of Stewart Haas Racing According to Greg Zipadelli

    Me, the dirt reporter just participated in a NASCAR teleconference for the first time in almost a year, with Greg Zipadelli from Stewart Haas Racing and Mark Martin, in regards to Tony Stewart’s SEASON ending injury. I sat here and thought and thought about how to put that so that it did not get misconstrued, in the back of my mind there was a voice that said people are going to turn everything around to suit themselves do the best you can. So I want to tell you all that Greg Zipadelli was very specific in his statement that Tony Stewart would be back for the Daytona 500 if not a little bit before. Probably for Mid January testing at Daytona. He was also very specific when he said, “Mark was Tony’s first choice as a driver replacement.”

    Mark Martin. said, “The amount of cooperation that was required to make this happen in such a short period of time was amazing and a testament to the amount of respect that the industry has for Tony Stewart.”

    Now the synopsis. Zippy was asked three times about the Kurt Busch rumors. He said point blank “at this time we are not talking to any other drivers. Our focus is on getting Mark in the 14 and to Bristol and getting the 39 another win and into the Chase.” Now let me sum that up for you folks….If you are not talking to other drivers it is a little hard to be signing one for a fourth team. He said, “Obviously if the right opportunity were to present we would certainly look at our resources accordingly. ” So for those who are all up in arms about the supposed Kurt Busch deal. From Zippy’s mouth to the worlds ears.

    Zippy also said the decision was made to keep Stewart out the rest of the season to allow him to heal and go through the rehab process that is necessary to insure his health and his future. He did not at any time say that Stewart was happy about it only that it was for his own good basically.

    There are a lot of pieces that have to come together yet for Steve Addington and the team. There are seats to be fit. Explanations on the differences in procedure from one team to another. There are discussions about set ups and driver wants and needs. There is the telling test to the medal of the team on Friday when Mark Martin crawls on board the Bass Pro Shops #14 Chevy for the first time. The tasks ahead for Addington and Zipadelli and the entire SHR team are monumental. But all believe one thing it is a win-win situation. Believing is two thirds of the battle.

    Tony Stewart is a racer. To the bone and the rod has been in his body long enough that it too is also now a racer. This can not possibly be easy for him. Dale Earnhardt once said the most difficult thing he ever did was crawl out of his car and watch another man climb in. Stewart is living that now. Pain can be more than physical and sometimes the most excruciating pain is emotional and intellectual. There are no pills for that. The only resolution to that pain is time and a return to normal. Tony Stewart will recover and he will return to his team and his seat. He will race again with the same gutsy determination and skill that he has always had. ‪#‎SmokeWillRise‬.  Until then Stewart choose a driver whose skills he respects and whose experience can do nothing but make his team better and stronger for his return.

    Whatever, the 2014 rumors maybe, they are just that rumors. Rumors that can not be confirmed do not warrant our concern or room in our press kits.

  • Straight from The Glen; Rain and Tony Stewart

    Straight from The Glen; Rain and Tony Stewart

    Well it wouldn’t be a weekend at Watkins Glen International without Mother Nature interfering with the racing itinerary.  The weather has been slightly less than optimal since Thursday evening, so with no practice sessions to talk about as of yet, the talk around the track has been centered around the biggest news of the week, the guy sitting 11th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings.

    There has been a revolving door on the Media Center today because of the rain in the area with Drivers, Competition Directors, Track Presidents, and even the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo all dodging raindrops to speak to members of the media today. The topic most discussed: Tony Stewart missing his first race after 521 consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts. There is one common theme across the board with anyone talking about Smoke, there is a ton of support for Tony not only for  a quick recovery but for his decision to race outside the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    Greg Zipadelli, Competition Director for Stewart-Haas racing was in the Media Center earlier today to talk about Stewart’s condition and the team’s decision to go with Max Papis as driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet SS.

    Zippy on Smoke’s current condition:  “I saw him Wednesday night before his surgery.  I talked to him, texted, yesterday after everything went well.  As good as could be expected.  It’s going to be a day by day situation right now just with infections and things of that nature.  Hopefully, it will turn into a week by week here probably Sunday or Monday we will know a lot more.  Right now it’s a week by week deal.  We will see what doctors have to say at the beginning of the week and we will go from there.”

    An interesting question has been mentioned all week around folks close to the sport – what does Tony Stewart think about his current situation? Greg Zipadelli helped to answer that question earlier today:

    “(Tony) felt like he has let a lot of people down, the world, his fans, so I know all the support that he has gotten from the fans and the racers here I know has helped him a lot.  We talked about that and it’s cool the outreach that this area has given him.”

    Smoke will be happy to know he’s got a group of supporters in his fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. supported Tony’s decision to race his sprint car as much as he does (somewhere between 90 and 100 races each year):

    ” If I enjoyed road racing as much as Tony (Stewart) enjoys dirt cars then you wouldn’t give it up and I wouldn’t have.  I would have gone back and done it more. “

    Junior went on to talk about the affect Stewart’s absence from the driver’s seat will have in the coming weeks leading up to the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup:

    “He’s a lot of fun to race with so you’ll miss that competition as much as everybody wants their job to be easier, you’ll miss the competition that Tony (Stewart) brings to the table every week and I think the fans will miss that as well.  There’s a lot of guys in the series that are just real fun to race against.  Especially when the cars are so equal and you can get out there and really get after it, he’s a lot of fun.”

    Five-Time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Jimmie Johnson was also asked about the high likelihood of Tony Stewart not racing for a championship this year.

    “Yeah, it’s a big loss for our sport and certainly I know that Tony is feeling bad about being injured and the affect that it has on his Cup team. It’s crazy to think that he won’t be a player in the Chase. It’s not something that I would have ever thought, as the year got started.”

    As we all know, Tony Stewart is one of the most high-profile guys in the garage area on a weekly basis, and many in the NASCAR community look up to Smoke not only as a driver, but as a team owner, and a track owner. He is one of the most respected figures in the community, and to see him take heat from folks does not settle well when the cards do not fall in his direction.

    In probably the most candid comment of the day here at Watkins Glen, Jimmie Johnson went on to express his disappointment in those giving Tony Stewart a hard time about doing what he loves.

    ” I look at the coverage and opinions that are flying around and its troubled me some to see people giving him (Stewart) a hard time about his decisions to race other vehicles. We always praise him for his contributions to the motorsports world and his ability to drive and race anything and to own all these different types of vehicles. And then you look at the race tracks that he owns and his involvement with. The guy has done so much for our sport and of course we don’t want to see him injured, but I’ve been disappointed that people have given him a hard time over it.”

    The debate will role on as to whether drivers should choose to partake in dangerous activities outside of their Cup cars, and will only become more prevalent if Tony Stewart is, in fact, eliminated from championship contention.

    A tentative revised practice schedule has been passed down from NASCAR, with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practices slated for 3:00PM and 5:35PM this afternoon.

    Stay tuned all weekend for updates from Watkins Glen International and be sure to listen in as Greg, Ed Coombs and I preview the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen on Saturday at 8:00PM. Listen live at www.PrimeSportsNetwork.com and follow me on Twitter at @ML_B_Lo for updates all weekend.

  • A Champion of Change – Greg Zipadelli

    A Champion of Change – Greg Zipadelli

    [media-credit name=”Jerry Markland Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”102″][/media-credit]They say that life is about changing and that nothing ever stays the same. The key to being successful is being able to change and adapt and continue to grow and be successful. In the last several years no one is more adept at change than Greg Zipadelli. He has gone from working with an established champion to bringing up another rookie to making a huge change in jobs, in teams, in responsibilities. To now he is in his final race of perfecting communication and providing comfort zones for NASCAR’s newest super star Danica Patrick.

    Greg Zipadelli doesn’t bounce around much. He never has. His loyalty to teams and drivers doesn’t allow for that. It’s always been that way, from the time he won his first championship with Mike “Magic Shoes” McLaughlin in 1988 all the way today. Zippy as he is known has always been around for the long haul.

    Many think that Zipadelli’s major success was with Joe Gibbs Racing and a guy who would play a role in his career all the way through today, Tony Stewart. But the truth is Greg Zipadelli has been winning championships and races since he was 21 years old, having been the crew chief for McLaughlin, Mike Stefanik and of course Tony Stewart, and Joey Logano.

    When Zipadelli and Stewart were paired up by Joe Gibbs Racing in 1999 to challenge for Rookie of the Year honors, it was not Zippy’s first foray into what was then Winston Cup. In fact he came to Joe Gibbs Racing from a position of Chassis specialist for Jeff Burton with Jack Roush Racing.

    Zipadelli would help build the No.20 Home Depot team literally from the ground up. With a rookie driver, a rookie crew chief and in a lot of ways a rookie team, Zippy and Stewart would pull off a historical feat. They won three times in their rookie year to claim the Rookie of the Year honors. Something no one else had ever done.

    The relationship would last until 2008. When Stewart would make the move into ownership with his newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing team, it was a difficult thing for Stewart to leave his friend and crew chief behind after 9 years and 33 wins and two championships. But contractual restrictions would prevent him from taking Greg Zipadelli with him, at least for right then.

    The seat would then be filled by another young man who came to Zippy a rookie. Joey Logano had a big reputation in late model stocks, but he had even bigger shoes to fill. Shoes that were so big that there were times you could see him struggle not to trip. Always there with a calm and reassuring manner was Zipadelli. It would be that calm demeanor that would lead Logano to his first career win in his first season with JGR. When Zipadelli left Logano, he did so with 17 top-5’s, 36 top-10’s and one win over the three year period.

    In 2011, the call came from old friend Tony Stewart. Negotiations had been completed allowing Zippy to leave JGR and join SHR as the competition director, a position that had been left open after the termination of Bobby Hutchens.  But the separation was not as easy as you might think. J.D. Gibbs called the progression difficult. “It’s hard, it’s hard for him in a lot of ways – this has been his home for a long time. And it’s hard for us.”

    “Joe Gibbs always says that you win with people, and Tony Stewart is a winner,” Zipadelli said in the Stewart-Haas statement. “We won a lot together at Joe Gibbs Racing, and it was a sad day when (Stewart) left.

    “But Tony had an unbelievable opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing, and he’s obviously made the most of it. To become a part of what he’s already built, but to do it in a new role with a new set of responsibilities, was a challenge I wanted.”

    Tony Stewart and Greg Zipadelli were together longer than any other crew chief driver pairing in the garage having been together for 9 years and forming a relationship that those close to them referred to as more like brothers than co workers. Stewart said of the move, “Greg knows all that goes into the job, understands the importance of team work and communication across all levels of the organization and is ultimately someone I have a great deal of trust in.”

    But how difficult was the transition from crew chief to competition director? “It’s not really difficult, it’s just different. The difficult part is that you’ve been a crew chief so long you just kind of do what you do. Now you have to look at things differently. I like to explain it as I use to be selfish, just worry about my car and my group. Now you’ve got to worry about everybody’s car you know. Luckily you don’t have the immediate highs and lows like you do calling the race. Now you’re affected by all of them. Instead of just the car you’re working on. In that aspect it’s different,” stated Zipadelli

    The job of competition director is a big one. It’s a job that is crucial to the teams themselves. “I think for where the casual fan doesn’t understand is that not every car owner can be at the shop every day and can be down on the floor every day and handling financials all the way down to the people that sweep the floor at the end of the day. The competition director is very crucial in that connection between what is going on down on the floor and what is going on in the upper office. He is managing the crew chiefs, managing the teams, managing the different departments at the race shop. He is that connection between downstairs and upstairs. Especially on a race weekend, if we have any kind of a problem that is the guy, and in our case with Greg Zipadelli, he is the acting role as the car owner from my side. He is very crucial in that role and having the right person in that role if very important to each organization” stated Tony Stewart.

    But the challenges of moving from crew chief to competition director according to Zipadelli were a little different for him, “The challenging part is just learning what you can do to help the others, and not be selfish. I think having this limited deal with the Sprint Cup car (short stint as Danica Patrick’s crew chief) kind of helped me put something’s off and allowed me to still do a little bit and then go back and forth from that part of it. It’s been a help to me personally because I enjoy this part of it. The other thing is that it changes so much. What you are working on and the people part of it. So much of our sport today is people. You’re always working on people moving them around and expansion what we need to be working on and those types of things.”

    Greg Zipadelli has had both ends of the spectrum with drivers. He has had the ultra skilled highly successful Stewart whose wins and championships in multiple series on multiple surface types made him a given success. He has had a true rookie in the sport with Danica, whose limited stock car experience is a challenge for both her and her team. And he has had the youthful late model success story in Joey Logano. But Zipadelli is honest about what it took to bring them all up in the ranks. “Success wise, obviously Tony was (the easiest to guide into Cup racing), because he had so much racing experience in so many other series and had been so successful. He knew how to win and he knew how to win championships, we just had to figure out what he liked in a race car and give it to him and he could do the rest. I don’t know if it’s fair to compare the three of them. They are all so different in their experience level the success level they have had in different series. They are all drastically different.”

    Every ship needs a captain to help ease the strain of change. Change requires a steady hand on the wheel. A leader must have the confidence to calm the jittery. He must have the strength to lead the hesitant. It takes a knowing ear to hear and ease the fear before it becomes a habit, to spot the anger and intervene. It takes a champion to lead a group to greatness through the storms of human nature and the intangible variables of racing. Greg Zipadelli has been down that road as a crew chief. Now he will blaze the path for three instead of one.

    Now he will teach and guide an organization instead of a team. In the end, the job is the same the scope is just bigger. “We’re capable of taking bad days and making them into ok days or even great days,” said Zipadelli. With that kind of confidence and belief in his team, his drivers and himself, Greg Zipadelli has already proven he is the man to guide the ship at Stewart-Haas Racing.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono

    On a weekend where the patriarch of Pocono Raceway, Doc Mattioli, dramatically announced his retirement and sporadic rain made both the NASCAR Camping World Truck race and the ARCA Series race two-day events, it was no wonder that there was drama aplenty in the 38th Annual Good Sam RV Insurance 500.

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Long Pond, Pennsylvania track known affectionately as the ‘Tricky Triangle’.

    Surprising:  Although known for his victory lap celebrations displaying a large American flag, it was surprising how the race winner put aside both the celebration and the pain of his broken ankle to patriotically pay tribute to the lives of the troops lost this weekend.

    Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, climbed gingerly from his race car after taking the checkered flag to pay tribute to the Navy Seals and all who protect the country.

    “I’m no hero,” Keselowski said. “The heroes are the guys that died in Afghanistan this weekend. And I want to spend time thinking about them.”

    “I have a cousin in the Navy Seals,” Keselowski said. “It was really inspirational to me.  That’s what it means to man up.”

    “They were my inspiration for this weekend,” Keselowski continued. “I’m glad that we could win today but those are the heroes. I just drive race cars.”

    This was Keselowski’s third victory in 74 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and his second victory in the 2011 season. This was also Keselowski’s first victory at Pocono Raceway.

    Not Surprising:  With Keselowski’s set up in his car, it was no surprise that his teammate Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, finished third. This was Busch’s 12th top-10 finish in 22 races at Pocono Raceway.

    Although Kurt Busch did everything he could after the race to deflect the attention, it was also not surprising that he had the most significant altercation in the race, on and off the track. Busch got into it with five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, as the two battled for position late in the race.

    “Today was definitely a hard fought battle,” Busch said. “We were hanging on to it at the end. And I brought her home third.”

    “We had a good battle all day, especially at the end with the 48,” Busch said. “We’ve had our battles and a lot of times I come out on the short end of the stick. But what I saw today was good hard racing.”

    “That’s what race fans love to see, that’s what they bought this ticket for, that’s what they’re sitting in the grandstands, rooting on their favorite driver for to see him get out there, mix it up clean, and bring it home, just like what we were third and fourth.”

    Surprising:  At a track the he admittedly does not do well at and after spinning in the early laps of the race, as well as being penalized for pitting too soon, it was surprising to see the other Busch brother, Kyle, finish in the runner up position. This was the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota driver’s fifth top-10 finish in four races at Pocono but his 13th top-10 finish in 2011.

    “The guys were flawless this weekend,” Busch said. “We worked real hard at it and it was fast.”

    “That last caution killed us,” Busch continued. “I was really hoping to see it go green the rest of the way. Our car was fast out front.”

    “All in all, it was a great day to come in second at one of my worst tracks.”

    This was the second race of the day in which Busch finished second. He was also the bridesmaid to Kevin Harvick in the Camping World Truck Series race, held over due to the rain.

    Not Surprising:  Speaking of weather, it was not surprising to see it impact the race, which ended up being was halted for a rain delay lasting one hour, 40 minutes and 46 second. Principal among those drivers who suffered the consequences of the precipitation was pole sitter Joey Logano.

    The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet not only started the race in front but was in the lead when the rains came pouring down. In spite of doing every rain dance possible, Pocono Raceway got the track dry and the race resumed. Logano, however, did not resume well,  struggling after the race restart, cutting a right rear tire down late in the race and finishing 26th.

    “We just had a flat,” Greg Zipadelli, Logano’s crew chief, said. “You can’t predict that.”

    Surprising:  Teammates Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, and Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, had their hopes for a good race weekend surprisingly dashed at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    Vickers suffered an engine failure early in the race and suffered his first DNF since Talladega, officially finishing 39th.

    “We lost an engine,” Vickers said dejectedly. “It was tough. I think we had a good car.”

    “We just haven’t had things go our way.”

    Teammate Kahne also did not have things go his way. He got into a late race collision with Juan Pablo Montoya and finished 28th.

    “We started the weekend off pretty strong,” Kahne said. “But in the race we just were behind.”

    “It definitely wasn’t what I expected, especially for a team that’s run so well here in the past.”

    Not Surprising:  Since Jeff Gordon  won the June 12th Pocono race, it was not surprising to see him power his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet back from a qualifying encounter with the wall to finish top ten in the August 7th Pocono race.

    “I’m happy with our finish considering were we started, deep in the field,” Gordon said.

    It was also not surprising that his fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammates had good finishes as well, with Jimmie Johnson in fourth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 9th and Mark Martin in 13th.

    “We had a good car all day long and I’m real happy how that worked out,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said.

    Surprising:  With all the focus on ‘Iron Man’ Keselowski for gutting out his win and the new feud brewing between five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and one-time champion Kurt Busch, the driver of the No. 27 Certain Teed/Menards Chevrolet went surprisingly unnoticed.

    Yet Paul Menard followed up his surprising win from last week at the Brickyard with a tenth place finish at Pocono.

    “It was a good follow-up to last week’s win,” Menard said. “We fought hard for this top-10 finish.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the three turns of Pocono wreaked havoc with many drivers, most significantly the driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford. David Ragan brought out the second caution early in the race when he spun, heavily damaging the back end of his car.

    “I was probably a little too aggressive this early in the race,” Ragan said. “I ran out of race track and didn’t have enough room to chase it.”

    With his 34th place finish, David Ragan not surprisingly became NASCAR’s biggest loser, plummeting three positions in the point standings to 19th, all but shattering his Chase hopes.

    Surprising:  There were a surprising number of lead changes, however, they were primarily due to green flag pit stops and not passing on the track. Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, had the lead four times for 65 laps and yet, in spite of that, still finished a surprisingly poor 15th at a track where he has excelled in the past.

    Not Surprising:  Given the intensity of the restarts, especially on the long Pocono straightaway, it was not surprising to see yet another driver get bit by a changing lanes before the start-finish line penalty. Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M/811 Ford, was assessed a pass through penalty, yet was able to learn from his mistakes, overcome it, and rebound to finish 8th.