Zipadelli and team plan to battle through distractions until 2009

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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Tony Stewart (left) and crew chief Greg Zipadelli have not enjoyed their usual level of success this season.

Rusty Jarrett
Getty Images for NASCAR

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief Greg Zipadelli will take on the challenge of mentoring rookie Joey Logano next season in the Sprint Cup Series, but for now he is  trying to focus on getting the No. 20 Toyota currently driven by Tony Stewart performing better.
 
Stewart has yet to win this year. While the two-time Cup champion sits sixth in points and would need a couple of disastrous races to fall out of the Chase, he hasn’t come close to teammate Kyle Busch’s eight wins.

Stewart is ending a 10-year relationship with JGR and Zipadelli, while Busch is in his first year after coming from Hendrick Motorsports.
 
So, what is the No. 18 team of Busch doing that the No. 20 team isn’t?
 
“We don’t necessarily run everything that they do and vice versa,” Zipadelli said. “But I think the biggest thing is you have a driver over there that’s going to prove to the world that he is better than who they’ve put in his car [at Hendrick].
 
“You’ve got a team that has been through hell for four or five years. They are all working well together. They all want to be together, and that’s a big thing. They’re not sitting there talking about contracts, they’re not talking about this and that. They’ve got all their stuff done. They’re racing together and moving forward. There’s no distractions with a lot to prove over there, and that’s a great recipe for success.”
 
Zipadelli said he is still trying to figure out which changes work and which ones don’t on NASCAR’s new car.
 
“I’m still learning stuff about the [car of tomorrow],” Zipadelli said. “It just continuously changes week after week. You don’t do necessarily the same thing you did last week. You’re just always trying to make things better. Some days it’s frustrating. Some days it’s exciting because it’s challenging.”
 
The exciting days have come more often as Stewart has had several decent performances in the last couple of months.
 
“Fortunately, the last six weeks or so, we’ve been OK,” Zipadelli said following the announcement that Logano would drive the No. 20 car next year. “I think we’ve been getting better. The good news is we’ve got room to improve, but we’ve been pretty consistent the last six or eight weeks, and that’s the important part.”
 
Zipadelli can only hope what works well with Stewart will also work well with Logano. He is excited about Logano’s potential, considering his performance in testing and his limited Nationwide appearances, but the crew chief can’t expect Logano to be a Stewart clone.
 
“Tony’s just amazing at being aware of his surroundings, moving around on the race track, making stuff happen,” Zipadelli said. “His instincts are phenomenal. That’s what makes him what he his.
 
“Driving up on a guy on a restart or five laps into it and there are two people two-wide and he has the opportunity to fill the hole and take the place, he doesn’t think about it. It just happens.”
 
Can Logano do that?
 
“I don’t know – he seems to be when I was watching him the other night,” Zipadelli said about Logano’s performance in the Nationwide Series race at Bristol. “He got in a car that didn’t have any laps, got it tore up and still did a good job and did things that I thought were fairly impressive.”
 
Zipadelli’s entire crew returns for 2009.
 
“It was hard not to go and work with Tony some more, but when you really look at it, this is an opportunity for me,” Ziapdelli said. “It’s still hard to think about where you should be, what’s right, what’s wrong.
 
“But I’m excited about what we have. I’m excited about the rest of the year.”

Mentioned Drivers: Joey Logano

Comments

9 responses to "Zipadelli and team plan to battle through distractions until 2009". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    Debbie Webb said:
    Aug 26, 2008 at 11:41 AM

    Greg is a A1 crew chief! I think that Greg and Joey are going to do really well next year. Joey is eager to learn and Greg is going to be a great teacher. And if Greg has any regrets, I think once he starts to work with Joey, they will soon vanish. This is a great opportunity for both and I wish them all the best.

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  2. 2
    Gregory Pope said:
    Aug 26, 2008 at 7:13 PM

    My question is, how is the Srubb (Kyle) going to take it when the new kid (Joey) starts spanking his but on a regular basis.

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  3. 3
    Julie Seybert said:
    Aug 26, 2008 at 7:29 PM

    i just wonder if in time zippy will follow tony,maybe not ! has anyone herad who tonys new crew chief will be ?

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  4. 4
    Gladys Bedwell said:
    Aug 26, 2008 at 9:17 PM

    Possibly Darien Grubb.

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  5. 5
    Ashley said:
    Aug 26, 2008 at 10:54 PM

    I bet after every race-- when Zippy's alone in the hauler or the men's room-- he does a little "Happy Dance" to soon be rid of the talented-- yet still extremely immature-- tub of lard that is Tony Stewart. I'm not saying they're not friends, I'm just saying Zippy has got to be looking forward to NOT having to look after Terrible Tony 24/7-- and professionally he'll do just fine-- if not BETTER-- without Tony as well.

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  6. 6
    4da88 said:
    Aug 27, 2008 at 12:27 AM

    We'll see. We have all these kids coming in; all wanting to be top dog. I am anxious to see who is going to be the leader of JGR's brat pack.

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  7. 7
    Pam said:
    Aug 27, 2008 at 8:38 AM

    The match made in Heaven - Smoke & Zippy. Wouldn't surprise me if Zippy follows Tony eventually. I'm sure Joey & Zippy will do well together too as he's a talented young driver and Zippy is a perfect mentor for any new up and coming driver. I'll miss the team of Tony & Zippy though...

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  8. 8
    Rex Lee said:
    Aug 27, 2008 at 3:15 PM

    I think Tony and Zippy will be back together before to long. They are two of a kind.For a few years there if Tony wasn't fighting with someone Zippy was.Him and the boys never passed up an opportunity to jump in the middle of one of Tony's brawls. All those boys are buds anyway it didn't matter who started it they would all end up finishing it!Not only is Tony the best driver ever. Zippy could be the best ever to set on a pit box in Nascar.There have been several and I don't want to mention names and leave somebody out but the Speed channel and ESPN have some commintators that fit that bill. I'm thinking Stewart/ Haus in 2010 is going to bring some great things.

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  9. 9
    scott raymond said:
    Aug 27, 2008 at 6:34 PM

    i dont know who ashley is but she might be a junior fan by the way she talks. well let me just say that zippy will most likely go back with tony in the furture. i know racing wont be the same with them split up. but weve seen many crews and drivers split. tony will be fine next year and he will win ,to show all these people who insult you that they are only jelous of such talent.

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2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings

Driver Standings after the AMP Energy 500

1 Jimmie Johnson 6248
2 Mark Martin -184
3 Jeff Gordon -192
4 Juan Pablo Montoya -239
5 Tony Stewart -279
6 Kurt Busch -312
7 Greg Biffle -340
8 Ryan Newman -402
9 Kasey Kahne -414
10 Carl Edwards -437
11 Denny Hamlin -448
12 Brian Vickers -556

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