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The story around the
racing world is that Greg Zipadelli will
likely stay with JGR to become crew
chief for Joey Logano next year than
follow Tony to Stewart-Hass racing like
Tony Eury Jr. did when Dale Jr. left DEI
to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. The
Stewart/Zipadelli combination is the
longest active driver/crew chief
combination in the sport which resulted
in 32 (more to come before the end of
the season) wins, three Budweiser
Shootout wins, a couple of Gatorade Duel
wins, a win in the Winston Open, a front
row starting spot in the Daytona 500,
and most of all, two (and maybe one
more) Cup Championships. So, if “Zippy”
is staying put to make Mr. Logano into
the next big Sprint Cup star, who would
be the best crew chief for “Smoke?”
After doing a lot of thinking I decided
that the crew chief for the number 14
Office Depot Chevy (just speculating)
should be:
Darian Grubb!
As you know Tony will
be getting his equipment
from Hendrick
Motorsports and there is
no other person better
than Grubb to be his
crew chief. Grubb, a
long time Hendrick
employee, became famous
in 2006 when he took
over for Chad Knaus when
NASCAR suspended him at
Daytona for an illegal
adjustment to the rear
window on the 48 car.
That little mistake to
the car was a big moment
for Grubb because he
helped Jimmie Johnson
win the 48th Daytona
500. Under the guidance
of Grubb, Johnson went
on to score a win over
Matt Kenseth in a close
race at Las Vegas and
was at the top of the
points standing. Grubb
went on to be the crew
chief for Casey Mears
last year and helped him
score a victory in the
Coca-Cola 600. Currently
Grubb is serving in an
administrative role
helping Tony Jr. and the
88 team win the 2008
Championship for Dale
Jr.
It will be sad at the
end of the season to see
Tony and “Zippy” part
ways but I believe that
Darian Grubb is the
right guy for the job.
If Grubb is selected for
the job it will take
time for him and Tony to
work together but I feel
we will see Tony a lot
in victory lane next
year and a serious
contender for the 2009
Championship.
You can contact
Jamie at
tucker88@roadrunner.com
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