Zipadelli has served as crew chief for Joey Logano’s #20 Home Depot Toyota since 2009, finishing 24th in championship points last season. His contract with JGR runs through the 2012 season, but multiple sources say he has negotiated an early release, in order to rejoin former driver Tony Stewart at Stewart Haas Racing. SHR has functioned without a Competition Director since the midpoint of the 2011 campaign, when veteran Bobby Hutchens was released.
Zipadelli will reportedly be replaced by Jason Ratcliff, who has led JGR’s #18 NASCAR Nationwide Series team for the last six seasons. He has been with the team since 2000, and won the Nationwide series championship with driver Kyle Busch in 2009, and the owner’s title in 2010 with a number of drivers sharing time at the wheel..
I just knew it was a matter of time before he would join SHR. Tony and Greg worked so good together. This is awesome news. Well in my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteLori from Colorado
I say good. I like Zippy but this combination has not worked for Logano and I have to believe that another will. I was disappointed to hear that Grubb was signed to go to Hamlin when it was so obvious to me that Logano need a new CC. Unfortunately it has seemed like JGR has done everything they could the could over the past few years to keep Logano from being paired with a CC he could have success with, splitting up his highly successful NNS pairing to move his CC to Busch being an example, hanging on to the pairing with Zippy as successful CCs play musical chairs all around being another.
ReplyDeleteTony in OH (formerly Tony in NY)