MODERATOR:

“From Columbus, Indiana, the three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, entering his 14th year on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala, Tony Stewart.

“From South Bend, Indiana, a winner of 15 races and 49 poles in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, entering his 11th full year of Sprint Cup racing, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army / Quicken Loans Chevrolet Impala, Ryan Newman.

“From Roscoe, Illinois, the first woman to win a Major League open wheel race in a North American series with her win in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Indy Japan 300 at the twin ring oval in Japan, entering her first year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a ten race schedule, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.Com Chevrolet Impala, Danica Patrick.

“Now their crew chiefs. From Spartanburg, South Carolina, the crew chief for Tony Stewart, the No. 14 Office Depot, / Mobil 1 team, Steve Addington.

“From Daytona Beach, Florida, the crew chief for Ryan Newman, and the No. 39 U.S. Army / Quicken Loans team, Tony Gibson.

“And from Berlin, Connecticut, the director of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, and the crew chief for the No. 10 GoDaddy.Com team, Greg Zipadelli.

“The glue that keeps all of this together, from Haslett, Michigan, the vice president of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, Matt Borland.

“Excellent. Thank you, everyone.

“Tony Stewart, driver/owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. We’ve said it once, we’ll say it a lot. You’re now the three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion. First off, how’s the view from the top of the mountain, and more importantly from behind the wheel of that Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet?”

TONY STEWART: “I’m scared of heights, so I don’t try to get up too high. But, no, it’s felt good this winter. It’s definitely been a short off season, but had a lot of changes, obviously, having Steve Addington on board and having my great friend, Greg Zipadelli back on board. We’re very excited about it.

“It’s been a short off season, but we’re having fun watching the changes of Stewart-Haas Racing and how it’s going to help us be better this year.”

MODERATOR: “Ryan, you came off another strong chase performance, and a pretty historic day where you led Stewart-Haas Racing to a one-two qualifying effort, and a one-two finish at New Hampshire, and Quicken Loans coming on board and joining the U.S. Army, as well as a host of sponsors, as well as Aspen Dental which was secured over the weekend joining Outback Steakhouse, WIX Filters, Tornados and Haas Automation, how pumped are you for the 2012 season to begin?”

RYAN NEWMAN: “Really excited. It’s a great list of sponsors, and obviously to have the U.S. Army back, one of our founding partners with the team at Stewart-Haas, it’s a great feeling. To have Quicken Loans, and like you said the whole list of them – with Outback Steakhouse, new sponsors to the sport, and then Aspen Dental, new sponsors to our team – just really look forward to having an opportunity to get each and every one of them a shot at victory lane.”

THE MODERATOR: “Danica, the year that stock car racing takes center stage is finally upon us, and after balancing IndyCars and stock cars last year, it’s all stock cars all the time, including this Memorial Day weekend. For the first time you’ll be in Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600 instead of Indianapolis for the Indy 500. So what’s it going to be like for the GoDaddy girl?”

DANICA PATRICK: “I don’t know. You tell me. I’m very fortunate to be in this position with this team and these people. I’m very fortunate. I’ve been wanting to race stock cars full time for a little while here, and it’s happening.

“We’ve added another challenge with the Coke 600 or Coke 6,000 as I’ve been told. It’s quite long. So I just want to thank everyone for making it happen at Stewart-Haas, and thank GoDaddy for supporting me the whole way through. I even have my own GoDaddy microphone. That’s pretty clever. So life is good.”

THE MODERATOR: “We’ll reintroduce the folks behind these drivers, starting off with Steve Addington. Steve, welcome to Stewart-Haas Racing. How has the transition been as you sort of rejoin the family that you once knew at JGR?”

STEVE ADDINGTON: “It’s been awesome. To come in and work with a group of guys like Tony Gibson has made the transition of just asking me or telling me everything that I need to know and give me the information that I need to get started and where I need to look for stuff.. Matt Borland’s got a great group in the engineering department and those guys have been very, very welcoming in getting me started and seeing where we’re at and see what direction we need to get going.”

THE MODERATOR: “Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman, you’ve been at Stewart-Haas Racing since the beginning. Can you talk a little about how Stewart-Haas Racing went from a relatively unknown that people really didn’t know what would happen to, to an organization that consistently wins races and contends for a championship and finally won a championship this past year?”

TONY GIBSON: “I think it’s just being surrounded with good, old fashioned racing people. You know, Stewart’s just an old redneck guy that loves to race and will drive everything. Everybody at our place, we just love racing. We grew together and things happened probably a little faster than most expected.

“But when you put a bunch of guys together that all they want to do is win and perform and run up front, things like that happen, partnered up with Chevrolet and they make things easy too. They give us all the things we need to improve our race teams and our company. We have great sponsors.

“So when you put all that in a Bowl, it’s got success written all over it. Really fortunate to be associated with Stewart-Haas Racing from the beginning and great drivers. Like I said before, Ryan’s one of those guys you want driving, because he’s going to give you 110% whether you’re two laps down or leading a race by half a lap. Doesn’t matter, you get the same effort out of him.

“So it’s a privilege to be hooked up with him, and Matt Borland. I’m looking forward to working with Steve and Greg and Danica, new people in our organization that are going to help us grow and be better. Already we’ve seen huge gains in our company since they’ve come on board. Looking forward to it.”

THE MODERATOR: “Excellent. And Greg Zipadelli, you’re reunited with Tony, but in a different way, as the competition director here at Stewart-Haas Racing. But still not far away from that pit box as Danica’s crew chief for this ten race schedule.”

GREG ZIPADELLI: “Yeah, it’s a great opportunity for myself. Next chapter in my life, maybe stepping back a little bit as a crew chief goes. I was excited to find out I was going to have the opportunity to do ten races and kind of help put this deal together.

“We had a really good test. I have enjoyed working with Danica. A good group of guys. I can’t say enough about the people at Stewart-Haas. The heart and the passion that every individual that I’ve met that works there is truly amazing. Very warm welcomes. Everybody has been very good to work with.

“They have done so much to help me make the transition. The people in the shop, Tony Gibson and his guys preparing cars for us, Matt Borland in engineering, a phenomenal place. We’re very, very excited about the future there.”

THE MODERATOR: “Matt Borland, the vice president of competition wore many hats in 2011, oversaw a lot of change, and also oversaw a lot of success. How did you manage it all?

MATT BORLAND: “I think it’s pretty easy. You look up here and we’ve got three new people up here along with all the people that have been here, each one brings a different talent and experience level to our program. We’ve got Steve who comes from Penske and Gibbs and a lot of new fresh ideas, things to look at, things to try.

“We’ve got Greg that’s come on board and he’s got new ideas from JGR that are all things we can try and try to make our stuff better than it’s been.

“Danica comes on board, another driver with open wheel background. So she’s got a lot of new ideas, new thoughts and new ways of thinking about things, and that just helps everybody come up with new ideas, new thoughts, new processes and hopefully out of that we’ll get a lot of wins and a lot of poles.”

THE MODERATOR: “Well said. We’ll open it up to questions.”

Q. I guess sometimes I miss things, but I don’t think I missed this, Danica. That’s news that you’re running the Coca Cola 600? Where does that leave the Indy 500? I assume you won’t try a double. Is that a difficult decision to race in that event this year?

DANICA PATRICK: “No, you didn’t miss it. I’m going to do the Coke 600. I’m not going to do the Indy 500. I hope to do it in the future, the Indy 500, that is. Maybe it will be a double. But at this point in time after a lot of conversations, it’s just going to be the Coke 600. It’s going to be a big challenge, but I’m looking forward to it, and especially a hometown like Charlotte for NASCAR.”

Q. How did you make the decision?

DANICA PATRICK: “The decision? Well, it was just something that didn’t work out as far as the business side of things. It just didn’t work out. I’m hopeful to do it in the future, but for this year, it just didn’t happen.”

Q. With the fuel injection system, how does it affect this race strategy? And, I think you still get your engines from Hendrick Motorsports. Is there still space left for your own modifications and changes to get ready for the race?

TONY GIBSON: “As far as the engines we get from Hendrick, they do a fantastic job, first of all, and they have done a great job of getting prepared for the EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) stuff this year. They’ve done a lot of testing. They’ve really kept us involved in it, and we’ve done a lot of stuff with Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas.

“We get the engines from them. When they come, we put the headers and transmissions and stuff on it. But their engine tuners come over in our shops twice a week, three times a week. So we don’t actually build them, but they keep us in the flow of things. We’re hands on with it. They’re very open about it. They want our ideas and especially from those guys. Borland on the engineering side making harnesses and stuff for us that go in and sink in with the Hendrick side of it. They’re very welcome to our ideas.

“So on that side of it, it’s been a great partnership, and pretty smooth so far.”

Q. Matt, can you talk about the whole development of Stewart-Haas Racing, and people talk about the projects you have going on back there. Can you talk about how you’ve seen the evolution of Stewart-Haas Racing?

MATT BORLAND: “Yeah, Gene Haas and Joe Custer started Haas back in 2002. They put a great program together and when Tony came on board, he added a whole other level of capabilities to the program. It’s allowed us to get a lot more people, get a lot more what is the word I’m looking for? We have a lot more people to do a lot more things to be more specialized at what we’re looking at and refining things.

“I think the biggest thing that’s come about with that is we’re able to dive down into the details of the program. With the cars the way they are now, there’s not huge gains to be made. There are small gains to be made in a lot of areas. So it takes a group of very strong people that can go and try to find all those little things.

“To Tony Gibson’s point, to have a bunch of racers that that’s all they want to do. They want to race. They want to beat everybody. They want to find those little things that gets them that much better than the next team out there.”

Q. Ryan, your whole team comes back intact. You have a lot of new sponsors associated with the 39 this year. Are you in the best position in terms of your career with Stewart-Haas than you’ve ever been before in the last couple of years there?

RYAN NEWMAN: “From a sponsorship standpoint, without a doubt. We’re really proud to partner up with these new sponsors. Like I said in my opening, sponsors that haven’t been a part of NASCAR at all, like Quicken Loans and Outback has a little bit of history.

“But just from our standpoint, when you have great sponsors, you’re allowed to get the great people and do the great things. Without a doubt, the sponsorship is a big part of that.

“So, yes, from that standpoint, no doubt. From a team standpoint, it’s great to have all our group back. We had a great run to get into the Chase. Our Chase was a bit of a struggle for us as a team. But those are the things that you get through them, work on them, build them, and make yourself stronger as a team and an organization for the next years.

“Tony can attest to this too, you can win a championship one year, doesn’t mean you’re going to win it the next year. You have to work really hard. Other teams, when you win, you build fire and desire within them. So you have to have that same fire and desire within yourself to go back and do what we did as an organization last year.

Q. Tony, the spotlight’s going to be bright on your team this year. Not only are you the defending champion, but with the addition of Danica Patrick and with Ryan, how best is the team able to deal with that? From the very beginning, there is a lot of attention given to your team.

TONY STEWART: “Yeah, we’re not worried about that. It’s a good thing with our partners on board. It helps us from the marketing side and the sponsorship sides to make sure we’re fulfilling what our partners need.

“When it comes time to being at the racetrack and doing what we do on the track, this group of people up here are really good at focusing on the task at hand. I think we’re all up for the challenge. It’s a good way to start the year. We came off of a great finish to the year last year, and we got a lot of new exciting partners on board this year, and a new teammate that’s going to be fun to work with. And a teammate that’s always fun to work with over on this side.

“We’re excited. We’re probably as excited to start the year as I can remember being in a long time.”

Q. This is a special championship. What did you do personally to celebrate it?

TONY STEWART: “Stayed at the shop until the Wednesday of Christmas. I didn’t really do anything, to be honest. Like I said, with the addition of Steve and Greg and Danica, we wanted to make sure that we were kind of there to make sure that everybody was getting started off in the right direction. I wasn’t really there for anything more than moral support.

“These guys are the guys that make it all happen, for sure. But honestly, I didn’t really do much of anything. I went and raced a couple of times through the winter here, but for the most part, it’s been business as usual.”

Q. Can you assess the different dynamics in the shop with the addition of Danica, and Zippy, and Steve Addington, and then the fact that Tony won the championship last year, the mood of the team and the dynamics in the shop?

MATT BORLAND: “I think in general, the dynamics are very positive, very excited. Like Tony was saying, everybody’s looking forward to Daytona, looking forward to a great new season. As well, there are so many influx of new ideas this year, that we’re able to look at so many different things and find hopefully some more gains that will elevate us even better than we were last year.

“It’s been very positive. All the people on the team are pumped up and excited. It’s a great deal right now.”

Q. Tony, you won your third championship last year, five of 10 Chase races, and in a driver / crew chief relationship that you ended up changing, how much pressure does that put on the guy to your left when he walks in the front door?

TONY STEWART: “You’re asking the wrong guy. You need to ask him. I feel just fine.”

STEVE ADDINGTON: “I do too.”

TONY STEWART: “I think he’s thinking he’s on vacation now. Just saying. It’s kind of like what Tony Gibson was saying earlier. We’re just low key, down to earth racers and hard core racer that’s want to race. That is the attitude that Steve has coming in here.

“And as far as from my side, I’m not putting any pressure on him. I’m looking forward to going out and racing again. We both know there is going to be a period of getting to learn each other, and just little things that we’ll have to get sorted out to where we get into that weekly routine.

“Daytona’s not going to be… that ten day period’s not going to get it done. It’s going to take more of that. It’s going to take getting through Phoenix and some of those races to really get in tune with each other. But he’s been easy to work with so far.

“We’ve been able to work with him directly at Gibbs. So we kind of know him a little bit. I think it’s going to be pretty laid back, and we’re going to have a lot of fun. I don’t think it’s a big stress situation for either one of us right now.”

MODERATOR: “Steve, do you want to chime in on that as well?”

STEVE ADDINGTON: “No, look at what the organization did. One guy’s not going to make the big difference. I’ve got to keep the communication with him going as far as the race car’s concerned, and having that supporting cast, the people that are around you through the organization makes you successful. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

“Everybody that I’ve run into or worked with in the organization, I’ve worked with them at some point or beside them at some point that they’ve welcomed me with open arms. Asking me everything that I need to go racing with them, and that’s it. You’ve got the supporting cast there that’s going to be successful.”

Q. Tony, could you explain to fans how life changes and how life doesn’t change after becoming a champion for the first, second, and third time?

TONY STEWART: “It hasn’t changed at all, honestly. I think the first time it changes a little bit because you’ve accomplished that goal. But after the first one, it really doesn’t change your life so much the second and third one. Like I said, it’s kind of been business as usual. We’ve enjoyed the whole off season with the team, and it’s been fun being at the shop to see how excited the guys are. Guys that three years ago had never won a race, and now they’re celebrating their first championship together.

“It’s been fun to be at the shop around those guys and see how excited they are to have Danica come on board and Zippy and Steve. It’s been fun to watch everybody have fun in the off season. You’ve got these two guys to the right that are always keeping you on your toes and making it fun, too.

“So we’ve just got a great group of people that have made it fun, and it really hasn’t changed my life any. Like I said, I probably took less time this off season to go enjoy myself than any other time. But I’ve had fun doing what I’ve been doing.”

Q. Tony Gibson, the last 30 years we’ve had two owner/drivers win the championship, Tony and Alan Kulwicki. You worked with both of those drivers. Can you talk about what similarities there are between them and what differences there are?

TONY GIBSON: “I think the differences may be the engineering side of it. Kulwicki was more like Newman on the engineering side of it. But he loved the race. He loved all about racing, and all about winning. In his heart it was win, and the grass roots of racing whether it was in Wisconsin doing the late model stuff or in a Cup car.

“Stewart has that same desire. He has in his heart all he wants to do is race. Every time he’ll text you he’s at a racetrack somewhere racing, and that’s all he wants to do. So the difference is probably maybe on the schooling. I don’t know where you went to school at.”

TONY STEWART: “High school.”

TONY GIBSON: “He went to high school.

“When it comes to strapping the belts down and putting a helmet on and taking the green, it’s all with your desire to win. Him and Alan, as far as I’m concerned, had the same desire to win and that’s why they’re both champions.

Q. Tony, will you divide up your time now any differently between the Cup side and the short track team now that you’ve got more people? You’ve got more people to supervise. Are you asking more people to supervise to give you more time for your other ventures?

TONY STEWART: “No, it’s pretty much business as usual. We’re adding more to the program, so you want to make sure that you’re keeping that time to make sure that everybody’s where they need to be and making sure that everybody is comfortable with what we’ve got. So as far as the time that I divide running the short track stuff versus what we’re doing here, it’s pretty much the same balance.”

Q. Tony, the economy has been down the last couple of years, but it seems to be doing a bit of a rebound. You guys have been doing well signing on new sponsors. Can you talk about your efforts signing new sponsors and the economy of your team?

TONY STEWART: “I’ll be honest, I’m really, really proud of our marketing team. Mike Verlander has done a great job introducing some new partners in the sport. I think it’s one thing from day one when we brought Tornados on board with Ryan’s car, and now Quicken Loans and Aspen Dental to bring new partners like this into the sport and introduce them to NASCAR is something that I take a lot of pride in.

“Like I said, it’s our marketing stuff that’s done it. I can’t take the credit for it, but I’m really proud of them. It’s been a tough economy, as we know. But to show these new companies that there is this value in NASCAR is something that we’re proud of. I think Tornados has had a great experience . I think it’s been the same way for Quicken so far.

“We finished up the year last year with them, and I think they enjoyed the first trip in the sport. Looking forward to having Aspen Dental on board.

“I’m really excited about it. It’s the best position sponsorship-wise that our company has been in, and we still have races to sell. But it’s the best position that we’ve been in since I partnered up with Gene three years ago. So we’re really excited about it.

“I think it’s a sign that hopefully things are starting to turn around and work their way back up now.”

Q. For Tony, Zippy, and Danica, what is a reasonable expectation or goals for this season? Danica, when you answer, if you could also address the Nationwide Series.

DANICA PATRICK: “I think that first starting out with the Nationwide stuff, very much it depends on the individual weekend itself. There are still some tracks that I haven’t raced at before, so probably a little bit different expectations for those. But for the most part, solid top-10. Getting into the top-five more consistently through the year would be a goal, and I’d like to get to victory lane.

“As far as the Cup stuff, I think that it would be good if they answered as well on this. But I’d like to know what I should expect. But I think that at Daytona, the cars are very fast as you guys can see, and as we saw already at the test. So I feel good about that race. I feel good about… I mean, I was lucky enough to get to run with Tony in the Nationwide race last summer, and that went pretty good. So I feel good about Daytona.

“I think there is a real chance if luck falls our way to perhaps win. I think that’s a real chance. I mean, a guy like Trevor Bayne last year showed that.

“So those are the expectations for the first race, but then beyond that. I don’t know. Top-20 or so, I guess, would maybe be a good goal. I feel like longer races are good. I like long races. I feel like I learn, I get more comfortable out there and we keep tweaking on the car and making it a little better on each pit stop, so I’m hoping that plays into my favor with the length of these races.”

GREG ZIPADELLI: For myself, it’s just good solid days. Give her as much track time as we can, and support, and just trying to teach her as much as we can about this sport and this series for the following year.”

TONY STEWART: “I’m excited about it. From my standpoint, I crashed everything I drove from the Nationwide cars, and it – on the Cup side – it got better obviously. But looking at it, these ten races for her this year, for me it’s just finishing the races and getting the track time.

“In the short amount of time that I’ve worked with her, she’s so good at processing information and what she learns on the racetrack. She can explain it to you right away and very accurate. I think her feedback is excellent.

“Just getting the time on the racetrack and, I guess are from my standpoint, I’m not worried about the finishes at the end of the day. It’s just finishing the race, getting the laps and getting that experience in the car. Five hundred mile races are long races, especially in the Cup series when you’re dealing with a 3,400 pound car. It’s a learning process.

“I think the success at the end of the year won’t be judged by where the finishing position is at the end of the day as much as what she’s taken away from race weekend. So that’s what my goal is for her.”

THE MODERATOR: “A couple other story lines that are definitely worth asking these folks in their one –on-one sessions. Danica Patrick in the Super Bowl. While the New England Patriots and New York Giants are making a return to the Super Bowl in two weeks, so does Danica. This will be the eighth straight year GoDaddy has run a Super Bowl ad campaign, and the sixth in which Danica has starred.

“So all told, Danica has appeared in ten GoDaddy Super Bowl ads dating back to 2007, giving her the title of most commercials of any celebrity in the history of the event.

“Not to be lost on television, Tony Stewart spent part of his off season doing a little acting himself. He made a guest appearance on ABC’s ‘Last Man Standing’ with Tim Allen. That episode is slated to air Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

“Tony is also running the season opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race. He’ll be in the No. 33 Oreo 100th anniversary Chevrolet Impala. He’ll be looking for his fifth straight win in that event, and his seventh in the last eight season opening NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Daytona.

“Again, from a sports business story, I know we’ve touched about it a little bit, in addition to all the sponsors that have returned to Ryan Newman in the No. 39, new to the sport, Quicken Loans, Aspen Dental, Outback Steakhouse coming back to NASCAR, all affiliated with Ryan and that No. 39 team.”

Instead, Patrick revealed during the opening stop of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour that she will be behind the wheel of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 27.

“I’ve wanted to race stock cars for a little while here and it’s happening,” Patrick said. “We’ve added another challenge with the Coke 600, or Coke 6,000 as I’ve been told.”

The decision, Patrick said, was mainly a business decision. Patrick has raced in the past seven Indianapolis 500s, earning a best finish of third in 2009 while driving for Andretti Green Racing.

“I hope to do it in the future, the Indy 500 that is. Maybe it’ll be a double,” Patrick said, referring to the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500 double that her Sprint Cup team owner Tony Stewart, John Andretti and Robby Gordon have done in the past.

Patrick is scheduled to run up to 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events this year for Stewart-Haas Racing in addition to the full NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports.

Pressure is On Tony Stewart and Steve Addington in 2012
Members of the media got their first look at the new driver/crew chief combination of Tony Stewart and Steve Addington Monday and the pair already look like they’ve been working together for years.

But still, the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Stewart admits they have a lot to learn about each other.

“We’re just a bunch of low-key, down to Earth racers, hardcore racers that just want to race. That is the attitude Steve has,” Stewart said. “I’m not putting any pressure on him (Addington). I’m looking forward to going out and racing with him.

“We both know there is going to be a period of learning each other and just little things. Daytona, that 10 day period is not going to get it done. It is going to take getting through Phoenix and Vegas and some of those races to really get in tune with each other,” Stewart added.

If Addington was concerned about any potential learning curve, he certainly didn’t show it.

“One guy isn’t going to make a big difference,” said Addington, who moved to Stewart-Haas Racing from Penske Racing. “I’ve gotta keep the communication with him going as far as the race car is concerned. Having that supporting cast, the people that are around you and throughout the organization, that is what makes you successful.”

Another new piece of the puzzle at Stewart-Haas Racing is Greg Zipadelli, Stewart’s former crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing. Zipadelli joins Stewart-Haas Racing as the organizations new competition director and will also serve as Patrick’s crew chief during her 10-race venture into Sprint Cup.

Stewart Eyes Seventh Daytona Nationwide Win
Tony Stewart will attempt to win his seventh NASCAR Nationwide Series race on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25. This year Stewart will drive the No. 33 Oreo 100th Anniversary Chevrolet fielded by Richard Childress Racing. Stewart has won the last four NASCAR Nationwide season openers at Daytona and hopes to add a fifth-straight victory next month.

Aspen-Dental to Sponsor Newman
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Monday that it reached a multi-year agreement with Aspen Dental, one of the largest networks of dental-care providers in the United States, as a new sponsor for Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet.

The Syracuse-based dental care provider will be the primary sponsor for Newman in 2012 for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Daytona in July and New Hampshire in September and will serve an associate sponsor at other events.

Stewart-Haas Racing announced in late 2011 that it would add Outback Steakhouse and Quicken Loans to its stable of sponsors for 2012.

Quote of the Day
Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, on working for the last two owner-driver champions (Tony Stewart and Alan Kulwicki) in Sprint Cup competition: “He (Kulwicki) loved to race. It was all about racing and all about winning. … Stewart has that same desire. In his heart all he wants to do is race.”

The Syracuse, N.Y.-based company, with more than 330 locations in 22 states, will be the primary sponsor of SHR’s No. 39 team with driver Ryan Newman at the July Sprint Cup race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the September event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. When not serving as primary sponsor, Aspen Dental will be an associate sponsor with placement on the lower-rear quarter panel of the No. 39 Chevrolet Impala and on the upper chest of Newman’s uniform. The company also secured rights to utilize Stewart promotionally.

“We’re thrilled to enter into this partnership with one of the most successful organizations in NASCAR,” said Mary Boysman, vice president of brand marketing and advertising at Aspen Dental Management, Inc. “Like our new partners at Stewart-Haas Racing, our team at Aspen Dental is driven by a strong commitment to quality, training and teamwork. We can’t wait for the 2012 season to begin so that we can join Stewart-Haas Racing on NASCAR’s biggest stage.”

At Aspen Dental, dentists and staff have a simple purpose: to help patients get the care they need by offering a full range of quality dental and denture services, from preventive care to general dentistry to restoration.

“Access to quality dental care is a challenge for so many patients, but working with Stewart-Haas Racing will help us create awareness for a whole new audience,” added Boysman.

“The opportunity to welcome Aspen Dental as a sponsor certainly puts a smile on the face of everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Newman, winner of 15 Sprint Cup races, including the 50^th running of the Daytona 500 in 2008. “It’s one of the most successful and progressive companies in dentistry and we look forward to representing them this season.”

“We’re proud to partner with a true leader in the dental industry,” added Stewart, who earned his third Sprint Cup title in dramatic fashion in 2011 by winning five of the 10 races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. “With locations in 22 states across the country, this agreement gives us a huge, built-in following. We’re going to do everything we can to deliver them a victory.

About Aspen Dental:
One of the largest and fastest-growing networks of dental care providers in the U.S., Aspen Dental practices are committed to providing patients with affordable, high-quality care. With more than 330 locations in 22 states, Aspen Dental practices are nationally accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). In 2011, Aspen Dental practices recorded more than 2.2 million patient visits, including visits from more than 490,000 new patients. For more information about Aspen Dental practices and services, visit www.AspenDental.com. To learn more about careers at Aspen Dental, visit www.AspenDentalJobs.com.

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.

“We felt the U.S. Army Chevy was going to produce a better qualifying effort than what we managed,” said Newman, who has three top-10 finishes in nine career Sprint Cup starts at Homestead. “We just didn’t get everything out of the (qualifying) run. I under-drove turns one and two and that’s what probably made the difference because I felt I nailed turns three and four. Based on our two practice sessions today, I feel we should be in good shape for tomorrow’s race.”

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala, will start 15th after turning a lap of 31.154 seconds at 173.332 mph.

“Well, the qualifying deal isn’t how our race is going to play out. So, this is one lap of 400 hundred miles we’ve still got to go,” said Stewart, who won at Homestead in 1999 and 2000. “Fifteenth is pretty solid. We didn’t have a pole-winning car today, but our Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy is pretty good in race trim. I’m glad we spent more time working on race trim than qualifying trim. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Carl Edwards captured his 10th career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his second at Homestead by posting a lap of 30.775 seconds at 175.467 mph.

Edwards leads Stewart by just three points in the championship standings. A win by Stewart will clinch his third Sprint Cup title, augmenting the championships he earned in 2002 and 2005.

Martin Truex Jr., will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 30.891 seconds at 174.808 mph. Kasey Kahne was third (30.931 seconds at 174.582 mph), while Kurt Busch (30.942 seconds at 174.520 mph) and Brad Keselowski (30.947 seconds at 174.492 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Forty-eight drivers attempted to qualify for the Ford 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Scott Speed, Reed Sorenson, Mike Skinner, Scott Riggs and Grant Enfinger.

As far as manufacturers, Ford took the top spot with Edwards’ pole-winning run. Toyota was next best via Truex’s runner-up effort, while Dodge was the third-fastest make thanks to Kurt Busch. Seventh-quick Jeff Gordon (30.957 seconds at 174.436 mph) carried the flag for Chevrolet.

The Ford 400 gets underway at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 2 p.m.

The two-time NSCS champion captured the very valuable bonus point for most laps led after starting the 312-lap/312-mile/500K Kobalt Tools 500 from the eight place on the 43-car grid.

Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Global Mining Chevrolet, finished fourth followed by Ryan Newman in fifth behind the wheel of the U.S. Army Veteran’s Day Chevrolet.

Paul Menard, No. 27 Peak/Menards Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, No. 33 USO/Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, finished ninth and 10th respectively to give Team Chevy five of the top-10 finishing positions in today’s race.

All remaining 10 drivers who qualified for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup have been mathematically eliminated from a chance at the championship after today’s race.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, remains third in the standings after battling handling issues today that netted him a 19th place finish.

Five-time defending NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, moved up to fifth in the standings with a very hard-fought 14th place finish today.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Retro Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, remains seventh in points. He too fought handling issues to take the checkered flag in 24th position.

Newman’s strong run today moved him three places in the standings to ninth place.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, battled brake issues for the majority of the race to settle for a disappointing 32nd place finish. He is now 11th in the standings heading to South Florida.

Kasey Kahne was the race winner followed by point’s leader Carl Edwards to complete the top-five finishers

The 36th and final round of the 2011 season will be November 20, 2011.

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBIL 1/OFFICE DEPOT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3^RD

POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

THE MODERATOR: We are welcomed in the media center by Tony Stewart who finished third in today’s race.

Tony, talk a little bit about this race here today, going into Homestead next week, three points behind in the championship. It’s between you and Carl. All other drivers were officially eliminated today. This is the third closest championship race going into the final race ever in the history of NASCAR.

TONY STEWART: I’m not thinking of that. I’m just thinking of the three points.

No, we had an awesome day. We came up two spots shy. I don’t know how you could have asked for a better day really. I mean, you figure we led the most laps, we were on the same pace we were last week just to have a perfect day. Just fought as hard as we could all day. Got out of balance the second to last stop and just lost that little bit that we needed to stay up there and keep Carl (Edwards) honest.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. The last couple weeks it literally has been you and Carl lap after lap. What is that like for you? Where does this rank as far as championship battles that you’ve been in?

TONY STEWART: Well, it’s fun. He’s keeping me honest, I’m keeping him honest. It’s fun when we’re first and second in the points and we’re running first and second on the racetrack the last two weeks. It shows why we’re both in this position.

We just got to keep doing what we’re doing. We got to keep the pressure on. Two weeks in a row we’ve led the most laps. Really proud of that. Proud of the pressure we’re putting on him. A lot can happen in 400 miles next week.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s a dead heat going in there. We just got to do our job like we’ve been doing. To have three top three finishes in the last three weeks, pretty proud of that.

I’m still pumped up. I want to go to Homestead tomorrow and start. I want tomorrow to be Friday. I’m pumped up, I’m excited about it and ready to go.

Q. Where does this rank?

TONY STEWART: I don’t know. Shoot, after 31 years of racing, I’ve been through so many championship battles. We’ve had somewhere we never won a race, we were the third guy in the Silver Crown deal in ’95, just mathematically in it, won it by two points the last race because the two guys in front of us, one blew up, one crashed out with 15 to go.

Under the circumstances I don’t know. It’s hard to rank anything. I’m more worried about where we rank after Sunday next week.

Q. Tony, how do you handicap this? Do either of you have an advantage?

TONY STEWART: I don’t think so. I think we both have momentum. We both had two really good weeks in a row. I still think our mile and a half program has come a long way this summer. You look at how we ran at Chicago, Kentucky, Charlotte, Texas last week. We’ve been good on the mile and a half’s. I’m excited about it.

I like Homestead. It’s a place that we had a lot of success when it was flat. We haven’t got that win with it banked. I like the way that track races right now. I’m pretty excited about it.

I don’t know where to handicap it. Doesn’t matter to me. It’s just about getting four more points than he does. That’s all that matters.

Q. Do you see any Jedi mind tricks in the next couple days?

TONY STEWART: I don’t even see any Jedis.

Q. Any verbal throw downs?

TONY STEWART: Does it matter? It’s still going to matter what happens on the racetrack. I don’t think it really matters right now.

Q. What will you do this week? Are you going to think about racing? Try to get away from it?

TONY STEWART: I’ve got a busy week. Office Depot’s headquarters are in Florida. We’ve got a store appearance on Tuesday. We’re going down to Office Depot’s campus in Boca Raton on Wednesday. We’re going to have a pretty busy week. That’s kind of what I like. I’m better off being busy this week and going down to Florida early and getting ready.

Q. After all of the prerace talk about how the track would race, what are your thoughts on how the race actually did unfold and how the track did? Tony, could you comment on your ability to pass on the outside line on restarts.

TONY STEWART: I mean, I think a bunch of the credit has to go to Randy LaJoie, Steve, Tim, the guys that came early this week, Kimmel. I think if it were not for those guys, we wouldn’t have had a two groove racetrack today.

We have to thank those guys for getting that cleaned off, getting that base of rubber in there to where we could actually get up there and run the last couple days.

I still wouldn’t have changed the shape the way they did. I guess the computers are smarter than the drivers these days. But I thought it was a good race. I didn’t get to see all of it. From where we’re at, we get to see the part we’re involved in.

You did have the flexibility to move up and down. Really that’s all you can ask for. I didn’t think there was any dramas with it today.

Q. Were you surprised you were able to pass on the outside on the restarts?

TONY STEWART: Yes and no. I mean, our car was a little loose on restarts, but it just seemed like we were actually better on the outside than we were on the inside. Once the groove moved up, once they got rubber up there, I don’t think it was a reason to be surprised.

The racetrack was wide enough you could run two wide then.

Q. Been a long time since the first and second in points have battled not only for the win but also in points. Can you talk about how that feels going into Homestead. Will there be any distractions?

TONY STEWART: I don’t know what distractions you would be talking about. It is kind of fun to be in this scenario where you got guys that are three points apart. Last week we were running first and second in the race. Today we ran first and second. It does make it fun. We’re both having to earn what we get.

No matter how it ends up next weekend, it’s not going to have been given to you. We’re going to have to definitely earn it and fight for it, for sure.

Q. We watch you come in and sit down next to each other after battling on the track. What is it like to sit down and have to talk about your race and the Chase next to the guy you’re battling?

TONY STEWART: We’ve been doing this how long together? I mean, it’s no different. Our demeanor isn’t any different than we always are. It’s you guys and ESPN that loves to try to build that crap in between everybody. The total drama network, for sure. At least they’re consistent about it. Everybody at ESPN is consistent about it.

I don’t see it being any different than normal. If you want, we can eliminate the chair, if that will make you feel better.

I think that answers your question, though, doesn’t it? Can you make sure everybody at ESPN understands that? Thank you.

Q. It’s not coincidental that you are battling like this side by side. How fun is it that you’re battling for a championship?

TONY STEWART: We saw what happened at Texas in (Ron) Hornaday’s championship run. We saw what happened with Elliott Sadler’s championship run. I want to beat a guy because you did a better job, not because a circumstance happens that takes somebody out of it. To race Carl for the lead in the races, for the points championship, that’s going to mean something at the end of the year. That’s going to add to whoever wins this.

We both had to fight and fight and fight to get every point we can get up to this point. I think it makes it more gratifying, the results, at the end of the day. I feel like I’m working towards something and I feel like if we accomplish this, we have worked for it, not had it handed to us, not had it given to us. That’s all you can ask for as a driver, is to be in that position.

I think it’s pretty honorable to be in that situation right now. It’s an awesome championship battle. So I don’t know how you could ask for more than what we got.

Q. Tony, you’ve talked a lot about driver etiquette this season. In light of this points battle being close, certainly at the end of the season there are times where guys use Homestead as a way to get back. Because this points race is so close, should drivers have a little bit more respect for this championship battle and put that stuff on hold? How should that issue be addressed? Obviously something could happen.

TONY STEWART: It’s a mile and a half track. Wherever I’m at, wherever he’s at on the racetrack, as long as it doesn’t happen around us, I don’t care what they do around each other. You can’t control the other 41 guys in the race. It’s just you hope one of those 41 guys doesn’t do something that impacts the championship.

I don’t care what they do; just don’t do it around us.

Q. Jimmie’s run came to an end today. Winning five straight, do you think anybody will ever do that again?

TONY STEWART: I haven’t won two straight so I have no clue what five straight feels like.

I don’t see anybody doing it again. I think it’s been absolutely remarkable to begin with for Jimmie to put five in a row together. I know this year hasn’t ended up the way he’s wanted by any means. I think he goes to Vegas and holds his head up high knowing what they’ve accomplished. The fact that there’s a real good possibility in the history of the sport for eternity that it could never happen again.

The competition gets tighter and tighter, tougher and tougher. I just think it’s amazing. You understand why people didn’t want him to win a sixth one. At the same time, I’ve said it from day one, how do you knock down a guy that’s going out and doing what he’s supposed to do? If we could trade places with him, we’d do it in a heartbeat, go out and win five in a row.

I think you’ve got to tip your hat to him. I think that’s something in NASCAR history that I would put my money on that it will never happen again. I’m willing to put that bet with anybody in this room right now. I just think it’s remarkable at this level to do what he’s done, what that team’s done. I know this year hasn’t ended the way they wanted, but I still think they have to have a lot of pride in knowing they’ve done something in the history of the sport that most likely will never be duplicated.

Q. You have scored exactly the same amount of points in the Chase. Kasey Kahne has scored the second most points. Have you noticed him turn it up and come on the last nine weeks?

TONY STEWART: I’ll be honest, I haven’t worried about it. Haven’t really thought about it and paid attention. I don’t know that anybody doesn’t see that coming. Kasey had bad luck like we did the first half of the year, just stupid stuff happening. He’s put together some really good runs here recently, run consistent.

Obviously if he was staying with that organization next year, I think we’d all be more worried. It’s kind of a question mark now that he’s switching to a different organization. Going to have to try to find their way over there.

But couldn’t happen to a better guy. I think Kasey is a guy that has fought through a lot of adversity this year to be able to rifle off these finishes.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Good luck next weekend.

Stewart led five times for a race-high 160 laps en route to his eighth top-five finish of 2011 and his eighth top-five result in 20 career Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Veterans Day Chevrolet Impala for SHR, finished fifth. It was Newman’s ninth top-five result of 2011 and his seventh top-five in 19 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1-mile oval.

The last time both SHR drivers finished in the top-five was in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon when Newman won and Stewart finished second.

Kasey Kahne won the Kobalt Tools 500k to score his 12th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his first at Phoenix.

Carl Edwards finished .802 of a second behind Kahne in the runner-up spot, while Stewart, Jeff Burton and Newman rounded out the top-five. A.J. Allmendinger, David Reutimann, Marcos Ambrose, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 30 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish the 312-lap race.

Stewart and Newman are both in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and came into Phoenix second and 12th, respectively, in the Chase standings. Stewart was three points behind Chase leader Edwards while Newman was 103 points out of the top spot. Stewart leaves Phoenix still in second and still three points behind Edwards. Newman moved up three spots to ninth in the standings and is now 107 points out of first. Both Newman and Kurt Busch have 2,252 points, but because Busch has two wins this season compared to just one for Newman, Busch is awarded eighth place.

Just one race remains before a champion is crowned following the Nov. 20 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Heading into the season finale, the top-12 Chase drivers rank as follows, with only Edwards and Stewart still eligible for the title.
1. Carl Edwards (2,359 points)
2. Tony Stewart (2,356 points, -3)
3. Kevin Harvick (2,308 points, -51)
4. Brad Keselowski (2,294 points, -65)
5. Jimmie Johnson (2,291 points, -68)
6. Matt Kenseth (2,289 points, -70)
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,257 points, -102)
8. Kurt Busch (2,252 points, -107)
9. Ryan Newman (2,252 points, -107)
10. Denny Hamlin (2,249 points, -110)
11. Jeff Gordon (2,247 points, -112)
12. Kyle Busch (2,224 points, -135)

The Ford 400 begins at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 2 p.m.

In one of the closest battles in the history of the award, Grubb, crew chief for the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet of Stewart-Haas Racing, captured four WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race awards (which were presented after each 2011 Sprint Cup Series race as part of the WYPALL Crew Chief Challenge). There was a four-way tie for second with three weekly awards: 2010 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year Gil Martin (No. 29 of Kevin Harvick), Alan Gustafson (No. 24 of Jeff Gordon), Jimmy Fennig (No. 17 of Matt Kenseth) and Paul Wolfe (No. 2 of Brad Keselowski).

Prior to the start of Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix, Grubb was presented a check for $10,000.00 on behalf of WYPALL Wipers, proud sponsor of Saturday’s Nationwide Series race – the WYPALL 200 Presented By Kimberly-Clark Professional.

“I am thanking WYPALL on behalf of our entire team,” said Grubb. “To win this award is an honor for not only myself but for all the guys on the team. I may be the one to call the shots at critical times, but I do it with the input of my team.

“WYPALL’s products make our life easier in this sport and I want to say how much we appreciate the WYPALL Crew Chief Award. It is really special and I can’t thank WYPALL enough.”

Grubb and company are on a late-season charge, winning the last two races, at Martinsville and Texas, to pull within just three points of Chase leader Carl Edwards with just two races remaining – Phoenix and Homestead-Miami. After tasting victory in Chicago and New Hampshire to begin the 10-race Chase, Stewart slipped in the next few events, falling as low as seventh in the standings and 24 points behind.

To say Grubb and his team are on a roll now is an understatement. The win at Martinsville vaulted Stewart to within eight points of the top spot. After the Texas triumph, it was cut to three. Overall, the team has 17 top-10 results this season.

“Darian showed a cool, uncanny ability to lead this team in critical situations,” said WYPALL Wipers representative Jeff Hammond, former champion crew chief and current FOX/Speed analyst. “He and the team peaked at the right time and Darian has shown what it takes to be the WYPALL Crew Chief of the Year. To win this award is a big deal. You need to have the right team under you, the right car and the right driver – then you have to make the right calls. He has been the master at that in the Chase, withstanding the pressure of the sport, fans and Tony.”

The 36-year-old Grubb graduated from Virginia Tech in 1998 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. After a stint with Volvo Trucks, he went to Petty Enterprises in 2000 before moving over to Hendrick Motorsports in 2003. While there, he served as an interim crew chief for Jimmie Johnson in 2006 and won two of four races, including the Daytona 500. A year later, he added another Hendrick win from atop the pit box with driver Casey Mears.

Grubb became a part of the foundation of Stewart-Haas Racing near the end of 2008. Since the team’s first season in 2009, Grubb has led Stewart to 10 victories and a spot in the Chase each year.

The 2011 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge has been a season-long contest that has strived each week to determine the best crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage.

Following each Cup race, a panel including Hammond, Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Claire B. Lang, along with Penske Racing crew chiefs Steve Addington (No. 22 – Kurt Busch) and Paul Wolfe (No. 2 – Brad Keselowski), voted to determine which crew chief demonstrated the most outstanding strategy and leadership during the race.

Each weekly Crew Chief Challenge winner was a guest on Lang’s “Dialed In” program on SiriusXM Radio (Ch. 90) at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesdays throughout the season.

“Darian and his team have been on a mission when it has counted,” said Stephanie Rossignol, Business leader for Kimberly-Clark Professional and the WYPALL Brand. “We’re extremely excited to present him this award. We look forward to giving the WYPALL Crew Chief Award every year. It’s nice to spotlight the crew chiefs and their efforts. They are genuinely proud to be a part of the program. They want to use reliable products on their cars and engines. That is why they choose WYPALL Wipers, which are used to wipe up the toughest, most stubborn messes like oil and grease.

“They can feel good about WYPALL Wipers. We are glad to show our appreciation to the crew chiefs who put our products to work each and every week.”

Grubb joins a list of prominent crew chiefs that have won the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year including two-time winner Chad Knaus, Gil Martin, Mike Ford, Tony Eury Sr., Robbie Reiser, and Doug Richert.

“We did not get on the pole, but we had a nice, solid lap and that’s what we needed to do,” said Stewart, who won at Phoenix as a Sprint Cup rookie in November 1999. “I would like to have been a little better. I think our car is a little better than that. I was a little too free to run a faster lap than that. It was a solid run and we’re in good shape right now.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Veterans Day Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 30th after turning a lap of 26.764 seconds at 134.509 mph.

“Not the lap we wanted,” said Newman, who won at Phoenix in April 2010 to score his first win in the No. 39 Chevrolet and the 14th of his Sprint Cup career. “There’s not a lot of grip in the track and we found that out.”

Matt Kenseth captured his seventh career Sprint Cup pole, his third of the season and his first at Phoenix by posting a lap of 26.258 seconds at 137.101 mph.

A.J. Allmendinger will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 26.384 seconds at 136.446 mph. Marcos Ambrose was third (26.411 seconds at 136.307 mph), while Mark Martin (26.455 seconds at 136.080 mph) and Martin Truex Jr., (26.455 seconds at 136.080 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Forty-six drivers attempted to qualify for the Kobalt Tools 500k. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Scott Riggs, David Stremme and Andy Lally.

As far as manufacturers went, Ford took the top-three spots thanks to Kenseth, Allmendinger and Ambrose. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of Martin. The top Toyota was Truex, and carrying the flag for Dodge was 12th-quick Brad Keselowski (26.585 seconds at 135.415 mph).

The Kobalt Tools 500k gets underway at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 2 p.m.