Greg Zipadelli (born April 21, 1967 in
Berlin, ConnecticutBerlin is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,215 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and served by the Amtrak station of the same name. Berlin...
), is a
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Sprint Cup
crew chiefCrew chief may refer to:*In auto racing, a crew chief is the head person on a pit stop*In baseball, a crew chief is usually the most experienced or senior Umpire in a game...
for
Joey LoganoJoseph Thomas Logano nicknamed "sliced bread" by Randy LaJoie, is an American race car driver who currently drives the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series and the #20 GameStop/Sport Clips Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.Logano's first major NASCAR win...
, who currently drives the #20 Home Depot Toyota
CamryThe Toyota Camry is a mid-size car, formerly a compact car manufactured by Toyota since 1980. The name "Camry" is an anagram for "my car", a sneaky marketing ploy that taps into the consumer's subconscious and locks them into an enternally binding contract with Toyota...
owned by former NFL Coach
Joe GibbsJoe Jackson Gibbs is an American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...
.
Greg 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 McLaughlinMichael McLaughlin is a retired NASCAR Busch Series driver. Nicknamed "Magic Shoes", McLaughlin was a perennial fan favorite, winning the Most Popular Driver award in 1997...
in 1988, at the tender age of 21.
Greg Zipadelli (born April 21, 1967 in
Berlin, ConnecticutBerlin is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,215 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and served by the Amtrak station of the same name. Berlin...
), is a
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Sprint Cup
crew chiefCrew chief may refer to:*In auto racing, a crew chief is the head person on a pit stop*In baseball, a crew chief is usually the most experienced or senior Umpire in a game...
for
Joey LoganoJoseph Thomas Logano nicknamed "sliced bread" by Randy LaJoie, is an American race car driver who currently drives the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series and the #20 GameStop/Sport Clips Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.Logano's first major NASCAR win...
, who currently drives the #20 Home Depot Toyota
CamryThe Toyota Camry is a mid-size car, formerly a compact car manufactured by Toyota since 1980. The name "Camry" is an anagram for "my car", a sneaky marketing ploy that taps into the consumer's subconscious and locks them into an enternally binding contract with Toyota...
owned by former NFL Coach
Joe GibbsJoe Jackson Gibbs is an American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...
.
Racing career
Greg 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 McLaughlinMichael McLaughlin is a retired NASCAR Busch Series driver. Nicknamed "Magic Shoes", McLaughlin was a perennial fan favorite, winning the Most Popular Driver award in 1997...
in 1988, at the tender 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 StefanikMike Stefanik is a NASCAR driver. He currently races in the Whelen Modified Tour, piloting the #16 Diversified Metals Pontiac. Stefanik was named the second greatest NASCAR Modified driver of all-time in 2003. His seven series championships are tied with Jerry Cook for second all-time, trailing...
. But his greatest fame and success would be achieved when he joined
Joe Gibbs RacingJoe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J.D. Gibbs, his son...
in 1999, partnering with
IndyCar SeriesThe IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and overseas...
champion turned
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
rookie
Tony StewartAnthony Wayne Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars, as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation." Tony currently owns...
. Their accomplishments include the 1999 Rookie of the Year title, winning a stunning three races, a feat which has only been tied by
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is a current NASCAR Sprint Cup race car driver who drives the #48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet Impala SS co-owned by Rick Hendrick and his teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson is the reigning three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion...
in 2002, three
Chase for the NEXTEL CupThe Chase for the Sprint Cup, originally known as "The Chase for the Championship" during its creation, and then "The Chase for the Nextel Cup" is the championship system used in NASCAR's top division, the Sprint Cup Series. The Chase was announced on January 21, 2004, and first used during the...
appearances, two championships in 2002 and 2005. The duo of "Smoke" (Stewart) and "Zippy" (Zipadelli) currently have the longest crew chief-driver relationship in NASCAR. However, that relationship ended as of the 2008 Season. In 2009, Stewart moved over to Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the #14 car. JGR Nationwide driver
Joey LoganoJoseph Thomas Logano nicknamed "sliced bread" by Randy LaJoie, is an American race car driver who currently drives the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series and the #20 GameStop/Sport Clips Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.Logano's first major NASCAR win...
will take over the driving of the #20 Home Depot Camry, with Zipadelli acting as crew chief.
Zipadelli has 3 children, Zachary Charles, Elwina Sophia, and Gianni Greogry, with his wife Nan.