Zipadelli deserves the credit for Logano’s first win
Joey Logano didn’t have the best car Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, made the best call in the rain-shortened race. Logano, 19, became the youngest driver ever to win a race in the series, but it came in the most unusual circumstances. The rookie driver overcame a one-lap deficit twice and then conserved enough fuel before the event was called 28 laps short of the 301-lap distance due to inclement weather. When Logano cut a tire and spun on lap 183, he pitted out of sequence from the race leaders. Several laps later, Scott Speed crashed hard into the wall, allowing Logano to get back on the lead lap via the “lucky dog” pass. While green-flag pit stops took place in the late-stages, Zipadelli made the call to keep Logano on the track as long as the fuel would hold up. It turned out to be the winning move. “We were lucky, but we put ourselves in position because we were behind,” Zipadelli said. “Because we did have the problems, it allowed us to pit, top off with fuel and do some of the things [early] that the guys up front that were guarding their track position [did later], which is pretty normal here.” — KC Star / Sports Network
