(Stafford Springs, CT)—When Stafford Motor Speedway released its 2012
schedule, it strayed from the norm and had a host of changes in store for
the 2012 season with extra distance and double feature nights. The 2012
Stafford schedule has another change to announce and that is the addition of
the Pro-4 Modified division to the CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend, which is
scheduled for Sept. 28-Sept. 30.
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Speedweeks Opener Features Deep And Talented Field
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 14, 2011) – 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 are 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.”
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Spring Green opener May 6; Friday nights highlight summer; Vermont 200 returns
WEST HAVEN, VT — Devil’s Bowl Speedway has announced an action-packed 18-event championship stock car racing schedule for the 2012 season. The West Haven, VT track, a semi-banked asphalt half-mile sanctioned by the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, will host open-wheel Modified, full-fender Late Model, and entry-level Renegade and Bomber classes throughout the summer.
After a pair of Sunday afternoon open practice sessions on April 22 and 29, Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 46th racing season opens with the historic Spring Green event on Sunday afternoon, May 6. The American-Canadian Tour Late Models will highlight the program, and the NASCAR Modified, Renegade and Bomber divisions will open their championship schedules at the event. Racing in all four weekly divisions will be held on Sunday afternoons for on May 13 and May 20 as well.
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KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Dec. 16, 2011) – 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.
“We’re very proud to have Greg Zipadelli join Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Stewart, the three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion. “Greg and I have a long and successful history together. I know him and he knows me, and we both know what it takes to build race teams.
“We took our time in searching for a competition director because it’s an important role with a lot of responsibility. Greg knows all that goes into the job, understands the importance of teamwork and communication across all levels of the organization, and is ultimately someone I have a great deal of trust in.”
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.)
“Joe Gibbs always says that you win with people, and Tony Stewart is a winner,” Zipadelli said. “We won a lot together at Joe Gibbs Racing, and it was a sad day when he left. But Tony had an unbelievable opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing, and he’s obviously made the most of it. To become a part of what he’s already built, but to do it in a new role with a new set of responsibilities, was a challenge I wanted. I really appreciate Joe and J.D. Gibbs for all that that they’ve given me over the years and for allowing me to seize this opportunity.”
Zipadelli’s career began humbly. His first job in racing was working on a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car owned by his uncle at age seven, and by age 14, he was preparing racecars for his family-owned Sherwood Racing Team.
By the time he was 20, Zipadelli was a championship-winning crew chief, leading Modified Tour driver Mike McLaughlin to the series title on the heels of five wins and 15 top-five finishes. When McLaughlin moved up to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with prominent New England car owner Mike Greci, Zipadelli followed and the tandem recorded five wins between 1990 and 1993.
McLaughlin departed Greci’s operation at the end of the 1993 season, but Zipadelli stayed with the team and worked with a handful of drivers in 1994 and 1995. Zipadelli’s perseverance paid off in 1996 when driver Mike Stefanik joined the team. While no wins were recorded that year, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes made way for a championship season in 1997. Stefanik marched to the series title that year riding a wave of consistency with two wins, 14 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, giving Zipadelli his second NASCAR touring series championship in less than a decade.
With two championship rings before age 30, Zipadelli headed south in January 1998 to join Roush Fenway Racing’s Sprint Cup operation as the chassis specialist for the No. 99 team of then driver Jeff Burton. As Burton won two races, earned 18 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes and finished fifth in points, Zipadelli’s talent was noticed.
In late 1998 when team owner Joe Gibbs began laying the groundwork for a second team with Stewart behind the wheel, he tabbed Zipadelli to be the No. 20 team’s crew chief. Now, after 13 highly successful years at JGR, Zipadelli’s career ascension continues with his new role as competition director at SHR.
(Stafford Springs, CT)—For Monson, MA native Justin Bren, the 2012 NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series season at Stafford Motor Speedway cannot arrive
fast enough. Bren and his team purchased the Limited Late Model car
formerly campaigned by Rob Dow and Rick Lanagan at Stafford, and they
brought the car to the 2011 CARQUEST Fall Final to shake the car down in
preparation for making a run at Rookie of the Year honors in 2012.
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