Greg Zipadelli

Last updated
Greg Zipadelli
Joey Logano Greg Zipadelli (cropped).jpg
Zipadelli at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2010
Born
Gregory C. Zipadelli

(1967-04-21) April 21, 1967 (age 56)
Nationality Flag of the United States.svg American
OccupationCompetition Director
Years active1988 – present
Employer Stewart-Haas Racing
Known forCrew Chief of #20 car (1999–2011)
Notable workWinning 2 Sprint Cup Series championships
SpouseNanette Zipadelli
Children3
Website www.gregzipadelli.com

Gregory C. Zipadelli, nicknamed "Zippy", (born April 21, 1967) is an American crew chief in NASCAR. He is currently the competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing. Zipadelli is most notable for being the crew chief of the #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Tony Stewart and Joey Logano from 1999 to 2011. He has won 34 races and two championships in 2002 and 2005 as a crew chief.

Racing career

Zipadelli began his career in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour series, becoming the crew chief for his family's team and immediately winning a championship with driver Mike McLaughlin in 1988, at the age of 21. When McLaughlin advanced to the Busch North Series in 1990, Zipadelli joined him, winning five races during the pair's four-year tenure together, and claimed another championship in 1997 as the crew chief for Mike Stefanik.[ citation needed ]

In 1999 he joined Joe Gibbs Racing, partnering with IndyCar Series champion turned NASCAR rookie Tony Stewart. Their accomplishments include the 1999 Rookie of the Year title, winning a rookie-record 3 races, [1] three Chase for the NEXTEL Cup appearances, and two championships in 2002 and 2005. The duo of "Smoke" (Stewart) and "Zippy" (Zipadelli) currently have the 3rd longest crew chief-driver relationship in NASCAR with 356 races behind Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus (602 races) and Richard Petty and Dale Inman (905 races). [2] However, that relationship ended as of the 2008 season with Stewart's departure from JGR.

Beginning in 2009, Stewart moved over to Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the #14 Chevrolet. JGR Nationwide driver Joey Logano took over the driving of the #20 Toyota, with Zipadelli continuing as crew chief.

As of December 2011, Zipadelli moved to Stewart-Haas Racing to reunite with Stewart, but as competition director, not as crew chief. Steve Addington, also a former JGR crew chief, headed to SHR in 2012 to fill the role of Stewart's crew chief. It was later announced that Zipadelli would be a part-time crew chief for Danica Patrick in the Daytona 500 in 2012, with her later 9 races undecided. [3] On October 20, 2013, Zipadelli filled in for Steve Addington as crew chief for the #14 of Austin Dillon in the 2013 Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, as Addington's wife was giving birth. [4]

He briefly returned to his role as a crew chief on June 14, 2020, in the Xfinity Series when Chase Briscoe’s crew chief, Richard Boswell, was suspended. The race was a success, as Briscoe won, giving Zipadelli his first Xfinity Series win as a crew chief.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denny Hamlin</span> American racing driver, Tv/Podcast personality, and NASCAR team owner

James Dennis Alan Hamlin is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and operates 23XI Racing with the basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. He has won a total of 49 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the Coca-Cola 600 in 2022 and the Daytona 500 in 2016, 2019, and 2020; he is the fourth person to win the race in back-to-back seasons, alongside Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Sterling Marlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Gibbs Racing</span> NASCAR racing team

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1992, JGR has won five Cup Series championships.

Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, ARCA Menards Series West and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. It was founded in 2002 as Haas CNC Racing after Haas, whose company was a sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports, elected to form his own team. In 2009, Stewart, who had been driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, made a deal with Haas to drive for the team and in return receive a 50% stake in it.

Steven J. Addington is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for RSS Racing as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2023, he is primarily crew chiefing their No. 38 Ford Mustang driven by Joe Graf Jr.. He has won 20 NASCAR Cup Series races and 11 Xfinity Series races as a crew chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Boswell</span> American racing driver and crew chief

Richard Warner Boswell II is an American former professional stock car racing driver and crew chief who works for Stewart-Haas Racing as the crew chief of their No. 14 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Chase Briscoe. He previously crew chiefed the team's No. 98 car in the Xfinity Series driven by Briscoe and Riley Herbst. He previously drove in the Xfinity Series in one race in 2009 for JR Motorsports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Logano</span> American racing driver

Joseph Thomas Logano is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske as well as part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. He previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as well as what are now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.

David B. Rogers is an American NASCAR crew chief who works as the performance director for 23XI Racing. He previously worked as a crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series as well as the technical director for JGR's Xfinity operations. He has over a decade of experience as a crew chief, all with JGR. Over the course of his career, he has worked in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series with drivers Jason Leffler, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Tony Stewart, Travis Kittleson, J. J. Yeley, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Coleman, Matt DiBenedetto, Michael McDowell, Carl Edwards, Daniel Suárez, Matt Tifft, Kyle Benjamin, Riley Herbst, and Daniel Hemric. Hemric and Rogers won the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Ratcliff</span> NASCAR crew chief

Jason Mederic Ratcliff is an American NASCAR crew chief, who is employed by Joe Gibbs Racing and is the crew chief for their No. 19 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driven by multiple drivers. He has worked for JGR since 2005 and prior to that was a crew chief for Brewco Motorsports and a pit crew member with LAR Motorsports and Sadler Brothers Racing. He is the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship-winning crew chief, winning the championship with driver Kyle Busch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Stevens (NASCAR)</span> NASCAR crew chief

Adam Gregory Stevens is a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for Christopher Bell since 2020. In 2015, he became the first crew chief since Jeff Hammond in 1982 to win the championship in his rookie season as the crew chief for Kyle Busch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chase Briscoe</span> American racing driver

Chase David Wayne Briscoe is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 14 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 22 Ford F-150 for AM Racing. He also owns a World of Outlaws sprint car racing team, Chase Briscoe Racing. He won the 2016 ARCA Racing Series championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 37th NASCAR Xfinity racing season

The 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 37th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. William Byron won the 2017 championship with JR Motorsports, but moved up to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Tyler Reddick, who replaced Byron in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, won the drivers' championship. Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste won the owners' championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASCAR operations of Team Penske</span> NASCAR team

The NASCAR operation of the racing team Team Penske is a unit based in Mooresville, North Carolina, US. The team fields Ford Mustangs in the NASCAR Cup Series and has won a total of four drivers' championships and over 170 races over both Cup and Xfinity series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 NASCAR Cup Series</span> 73rd season of NASCAR Cup Series racing

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was the first year that the non-points event was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season. The regular season also ended at Daytona with the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 28, where Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship. Following the 2021 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, Chevrolet claimed its 40th Manufacturer's Championship and its first since 2015. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 7 with Larson earning his first Cup Series championship after a 10-win season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 40th season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 40th season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 13. The regular season ended with the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Bullins</span> NASCAR crew chief

Jeremy D. Bullins is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Team Penske as the crew chief for Austin Cindric's No. 2 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 NASCAR Cup Series</span> 74th season of NASCAR Cup Series racing

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series was the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern Cup Series. The season started at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 6 with the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races on February 17 and the 64th running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season, at Daytona International Speedway on February 20. The regular season ended with the Coke Zero Sugar 400, also at Daytona, on August 27. The NASCAR playoffs began with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on September 4 and ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 6 where Joey Logano earned his second career Cup Series championship after a 4-win season. This season marks the debut of the Next Gen Car, which was originally supposed to debut in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this is the first season to have races covered by USA Network, which takes over for the now-defunct NBCSN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 41st season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series was the 41st season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 5 at Phoenix Raceway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 NASCAR Cup Series</span> 75th season of NASCAR Cup Series racing

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series is the 75th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 52nd season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season started with the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 5. That race was followed by the Daytona Duel qualifying races and the 65th running of the Daytona 500 on February 19, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season will end with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series</span> 42nd season of second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series

The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series is the 42nd season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway and will end with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on November 4 at Phoenix Raceway.

References

  1. Caraviello, David (2014-01-20). "TOP 10 ROOKIE CAMPAIGNS AT NASCAR'S HIGHEST LEVEL". NASCAR . Retrieved 2014-01-20.
  2. "7 longest NASCAR driver-crew chief pairings other than Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers". 2 October 2022.
  3. "Greg Zipadelli". Greg Zipadelli. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  4. "Zipadelli fills in for Addington on No. 14". NASCAR . 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-10-20.