Danica Patrick will be in good hands when she runs her first full season in the Sprint Cup Series in 2013. Stewart Haas Racing is looking to support Patrick with the veteran crew (chief Tony Gibson and the squad) that currently services the #39 team and Ryan Newman. ‘That’s what we ‘re looking at,’ says Patrick’s current Cup crew chief and SHR Competition Director Greg Zipadelli. ‘We sat down and talked with all the guys about it, and we just feel that they ‘re a real solid group of people. They have great attitudes, pretty upbeat. We feel like that’s the best thing to do is surround Danica with a really great group of people that don ‘t normally make mistakes. They don ‘t have issues. I look at them as generally, their glasses are always half-full. I think that’s the best thing for her.’ Zipadelli has a short list of crew chiefs for Newman but considering that most are still under contract with other teams he elected not to comment.(Fox Sports)(9-29-2012)
UPDATE: They are a veteran group and Gibson’s easygoing demeanor would work well with Patrick and the media spotlight. And Newman seems OK with the potential change. ‘I wouldn ‘t say I would be upset,’ Newman said. ‘I think a lot of (Gibson) as a person. We ‘ve had success on the racetrack and we ‘ve struggled on the racetrack.’ Newman said if he could get his crew chief in before the end of the season, that would be beneficial but it would need to be most of the crew he ‘d be working with in 2013. That could be difficult as SHR needs to hire extra people for the addition of a car. ‘Nothing has been decided yet-we ‘re just talking about different options and trying to evaluate how we can make our program better next year,’ team co-owner Tony Stewart said.(Sporting News)(10-2-2012)
