Greg Zipadelli Named Competition Director for Stewart-Haas Racing

Greg Zipadelli, winner of two championships and 34 victories as a crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has been named competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). He will work with Vice President of Competition Matt Borland and oversee the Nos. 14 and 39 teams, while also building the No. 10 team for which Danica Patrick will run a 10-race Sprint Cup schedule with in 2012.

Zipadelli comes to SHR from Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) where he served as crew chief for the No. 20 team since 1999. It’s where the 44-year-old from Berlin, Conn., began a 10-year tenure with Tony Stewart, the co-owner of SHR along with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation.

From 1999 through 2008, Zipadelli was Stewart’s crew chief, with the duo winning Sprint Cup titles in 2002 and 2005 while claiming 33 victories and 10 poles. When Stewart left JGR following the 2008 season to form SHR, Zipadelli stayed and spent three years as the crew chief for Joey Logano, where he helped deliver Logano’s first career Sprint Cup victory on June 28, 2009 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

The addition of Zipadelli to the SHR family is a reunion on two fronts – Stewart, of course, but also with Steve Addington, who spent 2004-2008 at JGR and is now Stewart’s crew chief at SHR with the No. 14 team. Tony Gibson serves as crew chief for the No. 39 team and driver Ryan Newman.

Zipadelli told reporters Friday he expects to be Danica Patrick's crew chief for the Daytona 500 and perhaps all of the former IndyCar driver's 10-race Sprint Cup schedule in the upcoming season. Zipadelli has yet to speak with Danica Patrick, but believes he can help build her #10 Cup team this season until he hires a permanent crew chief.

Zipadelli said it could take "until the end of the year" to find someone and said "We'll take as much time as we need." His goal is to find a crew chief who fits in with the rest of the organization, and he wants someone who can work with Patrick on a long-term basis.

Zipadelli's remarks indicated he may be atop the pit box for Patrick's entire first Cup season, which is scheduled to consist of 10 races.

- Stewart Haas Racing 

Ratcliff Named Crew Chief for JGR #20 Sprint Cup Series Team

Joe Gibbs Racing  announced today that Jason Ratcliff has been named crew chief for its No. 20 Sprint Cup Series team, replacing Greg Zipadelli who is leaving the organization to pursue an opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing.

“We appreciate everything Greg has done for us here at Joe Gibbs Racing. He has been a big part of our success, but we felt the timing was right to make this transition for our race team which allows Greg the opportunity to pursue a director of competition position with Tony (Stewart),” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “We also felt that the timing was right to bring Jason (Ratcliff) to our Cup operation. He is a proven leader with a tremendous track record in our Nationwide program and we think he and Joey will work well together.”

Ratcliff spent the previous seven years as crew chief for JGR’s No. 18 Nationwide Series team. No team has been better over the past three seasons as the team won two consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championships in 2009 and 2010. They narrowly missed out on a third consecutive title this past season finishing just a few points off the pace in second. Over the past three seasons JGR’s No. 18 Nationwide Series team has won an incredible 30 races, with 68 top-five, and 85 top-ten finishes. In addition, they have led an astonishing 6,124 laps over that time.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to join our Cup operation and work with Joey and everyone on the 20 team,” said Ratcliff. “There is a great history with this program and we have two of the best sponsors in the sport with The Home Depot and Dollar General. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Joey a few times now on the Nationwide side so there is a familiarity there, but I’m looking forward to getting started fulltime and working alongside Dave (Rogers) and Darian (Grubb).”

Zipadelli has been the crew chief for JGR’s No. 20 program since the team was formed in 1999. Over the 13-year span he has won 33 total races and two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships with driver Tony Stewart (2002 and 2005). He was also on top of the pit box for Joey Logano’s first career victory in 2009 which made him the youngest driver ever to win on the Cup level. Zipadelli is leaving JGR to pursue an opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing.

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release

Major Changes to Cooling Systems for 2012 Speedweeks at Daytona

NASCAR has issued a new technical bulletin to its Sprint Cup teams, detailing major changes to cooling systems for 2012 Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway in an effort to better regulate tandem drafting, the basis of which are:
Smaller radiator - Maximum of 2 gallon capacity
Smaller overflow tank - Maximum capacity of ½ gallon
Radiator inlet is moved up closer into the front center bumper area
Rate reduction in the springs softer springs
Smaller rear spoiler
Base line restrictor plate of 29/32 inch (1/64 inch larger than plate size for the 2011 Daytona 500)

According to Chris Paulson, president and owner of C&R Racing Inc. -- which manufactures nearly all of the radiators used in NASCAR's premier series -- the sanctioning body will be significantly reducing the size of the radiators and changing the location of the grille openings before the cars return for Daytona testing in January.

John Darby is implementing a two-gallon maximum radiator size," Paulson said. "So in other words, the big, huge five-gallon radiators everybody's running will be down to two. And that accumulator can was a one-gallon max volume. It's going down to a half-gallon-sized can."

The idea is to make the cooling systems less efficient, Paulson said, forcing the cars to run in open air to keep water temperatures down.

"The bigger effect is going to be moving the grille opening up to the bumper fascia area. Because now when they're tucked up behind another car, they're really going to kill all the air. So I think they're on the right track with that. They'll get the result that way."

In addition, NASCAR will require softer springs, a smaller rear spoiler and a baseline restrictor-plate size of 29/32ths of an inch, or 1/64th of an inch larger than the plate used for the 2011 Daytona 500.

"We want to be able to give the teams more options when it comes to drafting and we want to be able to reduce the difference in the speeds between the tandem style of racing and more of the pack style of racing that the fans are accustomed to seeing. We believe we're headed in the right direction with that."

Pressurized cooling systems had been used for years in open-wheel racing but made their way to NASCAR only in the past 12 years, Paulson said. And it wasn't until just a few years ago that teams realized they could run water temperatures well past the boiling point for entire races without appreciable damage to their engines.

That issue came to the forefront during last year's Budweiser Shootout, when drivers used tandem drafting throughout the entire race for the first time.

The pressure was reduced to 25 pounds at Talladega, but had only a limited effect on tandem drafting. Paulson believes the new rules -- combined with changes to the restrictor plates and spoilers -- should have the desired effect at Daytona. But it won't eliminate tandem drafting entirely.

"It'll be a short number of laps, and they'll be peeking out a lot more," Paulson said. "They certainly won't be able to do a sustained lap-after-lap run. I think that'll be taken care of. But you'll see, for one or two laps, them hook up if they want to go and pass people.

"I think that'll mix it up a lot more. And it needs to. I don't disagree with NASCAR of their wish to break that up. It's really changed that type of racing."

- NASCAR.COM

Kellogg's Returns As A Primary Sponsor Of Carl Edwards’ #99 Ford

Roush Fenway Racing and Kellogg Company have announced the multi-year extension of their NASCAR partnership. Kellogg will serve as a primary sponsor of the No. 99 Ford for four Sprint Cup races in 2012, teaming its famed Kellogg’s™ Frosted Flakes cereal and Cheez-It crackers with perennial championship contender and fan favorite Carl Edwards.


Kellogg has been involved with NASCAR for many years, including serving as a primary sponsor of the No. 99 Ford with Roush Fenway for the past two seasons. Edwards finished as runner up in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup and has accumulated 19 wins during his stellar Cup career. He also has 89 top-five finishes, 144 top-10 finishes and 10 pole awards in just over 250 starts.


Edwards secured a position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup NASCAR “playoff” six times in seven attempts, and finished second in 2008 and 2011. In addition, he won the 2007 Nationwide Series Championship. This season, Edwards and the No. 99 team led the Sprint Cup point standings for 23 of the 36 weeks.


“It’s an honor to be involved with Kellogg,” said Edwards. “They have tremendous commitment to quality in everything they do and racing fans love their products. They are a fun partner to go racing with and I’m excited about continuing the relationship.”


“Our involvement with racing gives us a great opportunity to interact with our consumers in a fun, exciting environment,” said Brad Davidson, president, Kellogg North America. “We are thrilled to extend our relationship with Carl and Roush Fenway Racing, and we look forward to seeing Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Cheez-it crackers on the No. 99 car next season.”


- Roush Fenway Racing 

Greg Biffle to Participate in 2012 Rose Parade

NASCAR driver Greg Biffle will help Natural Balance Pet Foods make a “splash” in the upcoming 123rd Rose Parade on January 2nd, 2012. In 2010 the Natural Balance float rolled into the Guinness Book of World records as the world’s longest float and in 2011, took the record for the world’s heaviest float.

This year the Natural Balance float will be 116 feet long and feature a tropical floral setting. After extensive training, the dogs on the float will actually surf on 65-foot long waves in over 6,600 gallons of water on a float weighing more than 100,000 pounds. A specially designed “wave” machine is incorporated into the design of the float and creates a wave every minute.

The Rose Bowl Parade will air live from Pasadena, Calif. on ABC at 11:00 a.m. EST. Check out Biffle and Tillman, the World’s Fastest Skateboarding Bulldog at www.GregBiffle.com and get a sneak peek at the building of the float at www.naturalbalanceinc.com.

“I can’t wait to see the float,” said Biffle. “I’ve heard a lot about this year’s float and I’ve seen video of the floats from the last couple of years. Tillman came to our shop at Roush Fenway Racing last month and we got to see him skateboard. I heard he’ll be surfing on the float this year so I can’t wait to see that. It was definitely an honor to be asked to ride on the Natural Balance float because we share the same passion for the well-being of animals.”

Additional Facts:

In addition to the ABC broadcast, the 123rd Rose Parade will be broadcast on the Hallmark Channel, HGTV, KTLA (Tribune), NBC, RFD-TV and Univision. The Parade is also seen in more than 200 international territories and countries.

The Natural Balance float is 54th out of 91 parade entries. It is preceded by a high-school band and succeeded by the Southern California Peruvian Paso Horse Club Riders.

The parade will make an unprecedented pause for 45 seconds when the Natural Balance Float, a float of "high visual interest", passes the viewing stand, in order to ponder "dogs that surf".

For the very first time in Rose Parade history there will be a robotic camera on the float.

The Natural Balance Float is powered by Ford's latest version of the 6.8L 3v engine which will be available this April in the new Ford F-650 Super Duty Truck.

- Roush Fenway Racing PR

Todd Gordon To Lead NO. 22 Shell/Penzoil Dodge Team.

Penske Racing announced today that Todd Gordon is the new crew chief of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Cup Series. The internal move comes on the heels of a successful 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) campaign, during which Gordon led the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger to six wins and six pole positions.

“Our first priority is always to look within the walls of Penske Racing when making personnel decisions,” said Roger Penske. “We want to reward success. The path we are taking with Todd mirrors what we did with Paul Wolfe who led the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to a Chase berth in 2011. We think Todd can get the job done in the same manner.”

Gordon made the move to Penske Racing in January of 2011. He and Brad Keselowski quickly developed a driver-crew chief rapport that resulted in another successful season, helping make the No. 22 Dodge one of the premier entries in NNS competition.

“I can’t thank Roger and everyone at Penske Racing enough for this vote of confidence,” said Gordon. “It’s an honor to step into a race-winning team. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an organization full of talented people that know how to get the job done. I look forward to getting the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge back in Victory Lane.”

Penske Racing continues to evaluate drivers to fill the seat of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge

- Penske Racing

2012 Budweiser Shootout At Daytona Lineup Announced

In what could be the deepest and most talented field to date, NASCAR announced Wednesday the list of eligible competitors for the 2012 Shootout.

The 34th annual season-opening event launches Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 18 with a start time set for 8:10 p.m. FOX and MRN will broadcast live nationally. 

Criteria is based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having been active in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during the 2011 season:

· The highest ranked 25 competitors in 2011 NSCS driver points
· Previous winners at Daytona, including the Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola, and Shootout events.

“By taking the top 25 competitors in last year’s driver points and combining that with former race winners at Daytona, you have all the ingredients for an extremely deep and talented field of drivers for the 2012 Shootout,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “When you take a look at the roster of drivers that this entails, I have to believe this is one of the most competitive fields that have ever been assembled for this event.”

The race distance will again be 75 laps (187.5 miles), consisting of two segments – 25 and 50 laps. Both green-flag laps and yellow-flag laps will count. Between segments there will be a 10-minute pit stop allowing teams to pit to change tires, add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments. Crews will be permitted to work on cars and will be allowed to perform functions they would do on a normal pit stop in a regular NASCAR Sprint Cup event. All work must be performed on pit road or in the garage. Changing of springs, shock absorbers or rear-ends will not be permitted.

Starting positions will again be determined by a blind-draw at the annual Shootout Draw Party on Friday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. on the SPEED stage in the Midway, outside Turn 4.

The Shootout – a “non-points” event for NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors – was first held in 1979. Kurt Busch is the defending race champion.

Drivers eligible for the 2012 Shootout include: 

2011 Top 25 Driver Points

Tony Stewart

Carl Edwards

Kevin Harvick

Matt Kenseth

Brad Keselowski

Jimmie Johnson

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Jeff Gordon

Denny Hamlin

Ryan Newman

Kurt Busch

Kyle Busch

Clint Bowyer

Kasey Kahne

AJ Allmendinger

Greg Biffle

Paul Menard

Martin Truex Jr.

Marcos Ambrose

Jeff Burton

Juan Pablo Montoya

Mark Martin

David Ragan

Joey Logano

Brian Vickers

Others (criteria in parentheses)

Bill Elliott (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Shootout)

Geoff Bodine (Daytona 500, Shootout)

Derrike Cope (Daytona 500)

Michael Waltrip (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)

Jamie McMurray (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)

Trevor Bayne (Daytona 500)

Terry Labonte (Shootout)

Ken Schrader (Shootout)

- NASCAR Media