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Is Logano ready for the No. 20 ride?

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By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, Ill. — Crew chief Greg Zipadelli doesn’t know who will be behind the wheel of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota next season, but he does know who it won’t be.

With Tony Stewart set to leave JGR after 10 years to launch Stewart-Haas Racing for 2009, Zipadelli’s loyalty to the Gibbs organization outweighed his friendship with Stewart. Accordingly, the longest current association between a driver and crew chief will end when Stewart departs at the end of the season, and Zipadelli stays behind.

Zipadelli will face the challenge of building a relationship with a new driver. Joey Logano, an 18-year-old self-professed candidate for the No. 20 ride, might be the man behind the wheel, though he has yet to compete in his first Cup race.

In four starts in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, however, Logano has two poles and one victory. Though Zipadelli places a high value on experience, he also has a healthy respect for Logano’s talent. But the crew chief isn’t certain whether Logano is ready to make the jump to Sprint Cup racing.

“That’s a big question that I don’t know anybody has an answer to,” Zipadelli said. “Experience is priceless, you know. It’s one thing to do it in other divisions, but when they feed you to the sharks out here on Sunday, you’re going against the best in the world that have tons of experience. There’s a lot to this sport from just being able to (compete) mentally, physically, and that all comes with time.

“I think from what we’ve seen so far, I think he has as good of a chance as any 18-year-old to come into this sport and succeed. I think what you’ve seen . . . over the last few years is somebody that has it, shows it early and they find a way to deal with it. There will be some lumps. If he did it when he was 20, he’d still have some ups and downs.”

Zipadelli cited Cup points leader Kyle Busch, who came to JGR this season, as a prime example.

“Look at Kyle and what he went through the first few years (at Hendrick Motorsports) and where he is today and how much more mature (he is), and because of that, where his success is at so far this year is a lot of that,” Zipadelli said. “A lot of that is just his experience. All of us have to deal with different things and learn over time.

“Can he (Logano) do it? I think he’s got as good of a shot as anybody else.”

BROTHER FOLLOWS BROTHER

Ward Burton won the 2002 Daytona 500 in a Dodge sponsored by Caterpillar. Next year, his brother, Jeff Burton, will carry the Caterpillar colors on his No. 31 Richard Childress racing Chevrolet.

“It’s been very much in the forefront of my mind,” Burton said Thursday after the unveiling of his 2009 car. “The success that CAT has enjoyed in this sport, most of the time Ward was driving it. We hold Caterpillar in really high regard in our family, based on how their relationship with Ward (went) and the things they were able to do together.

“So this is a great opportunity to continue that relationship and to make that Burton involvement even larger. We’re really excited about it. It is a unique situation, that’s for sure. I don’t ever remember a brother driving for a company and then, a few years later, another one driving. It’s going to be fun.”

ELLEDGE DEBUTS WITH RED BULL

Saturday’s Lifelock.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway marks the return to action of veteran crew chief Jimmy Elledge, who takes over from Ricky Viers on the No. 84 Red Bull Racing Toyota driven by AJ Allmendinger.

Elledge comes to Red Bull after being released from Chip Ganassi Racing, where he served as crew chief for both Reed Sorenson and Juan Montoya before being released in June.

“Ricky and I worked for a year-and-a-half together, and he’s a close friend of mine,” Allmendinger said of the change. “I think, ultimately, it just came down to when you go through so many tough times together, it just kind of strains you.

“There’s a lot of frustration the last few weeks — not anything specific, but we’ve just been struggling. The addition of Jimmy, the experience that he brings — that will be great for me, not just as a driver, but to have the experience on the pit box. I think, for the team, it’s going to be good.”