Apparently Ryan was really sick at Daytona.

Hope Ryan's feeling better. Zippy said he had a fever and was on IV fluids.

Rest up Ryan. Go home and let Krissie take care of you because you need to kick some booty this season!

I also heard Krissie was sick too. Sure hope little Miss Brooklynn doesn't get the flu too. Babies are so pitiful when they are sick.

He must have it bad as I had the flu last yr but didnt feel that bad except for maybe a day or two at most. Course it hits some harder then others obviously. Now i did had food poisoning once and thought I would die and wanted to for 4-5 days --dont want that again.

Get well Ryan and kick some butts--all of SHR--and dont wreck each other pushing, as Tony said he wrecked Ryan at Talledega--bad--bad bad>

Zippy said he sent Ryan home. Didnt want Ryan getting others sick.
Then Zippy told Tony who wanted to leave for his chili bowl, that he had to stay LOL.
I am glad to see Tony listens to the guy he hired, instead of just pulling rank. Also like the fact Zippy isnt afraid to be Bossy. Shows strength or lack of weakness if you will.
My only problem when he was talking about SHR he was saying a lot of he & his (meaning Tony's team) instead of they or them's
Also talked of Addington being a (basically) perfect fit for Tony, & Gibson....... Well he is a team guy! (I didnt take that too well)

Anyways back to the Good news, Maybe once the season gets started, if Zippy stays the way he is, he wont settle for subpar. (Since it will be his 1st time seeing it 1st hand)

In Short I like Zippy's attitude keeping Tony in check LOL.
I hope Zippy is as demanding with the #39 team once the season gets going!

With so many suggesting Ryan isnt getting what he needs at SHR, then this Zippy guy should be able to see whats wrong and fix it? As Zippy said in an interview at Daytona testing, basically all the cars will be setup the same for whatever works the best so he should have the same car that Tony and Danica has and its up to him to just drive. Since he is an experienced driver, its common sense to say he should be much better then Danica in Daytona, long as there arent Mechanical or Pit issues etc. The big thing for Daytona is--who can get pushed enough and at the right times and most importantly without wrecking or getting caught in other crashfests, as many say even with nascar changes, the 2 car tandem is where the winner will come from?

With so many suggesting Ryan isnt getting what he needs at SHR, then this Zippy guy should be able to see whats wrong and fix it? As Zippy said in an interview at Daytona testing, basically all the cars will be setup the same for whatever works the best so he should have the same car that Tony and Danica has and its up to him to just drive. Since he is an experienced driver, its common sense to say he should be much better then Danica in Daytona, long as there arent Mechanical or Pit issues etc. The big thing for Daytona is--who can get pushed enough and at the right times and most importantly without wrecking or getting caught in other crashfests, as many say even with nascar changes, the 2 car tandem is where the winner will come from?

Daytona (& dega) are a different animal. It is more about not being in a wreck than anything. Plate racing is a wild card. It is where you see the most 1st time winners or only time winners at times. it is also where you see single car underfunded teams do just as well as the super teams during the race. Ryan has led the most laps in the last two Daytona races, & been wrecked in both of them. led several laps at the last dega race before being wrecked. None of Ryan fans question his equipment (or atleast they shouldnt) I agree they all will have the same equipment. We question the personnel. I dont look at plate racing as a barometer of how any team is doing. It is just more of a spectucle for the common race fan.

Did I hear Schmoopy say "Good News"? Keep the faith Schmoopy, Zippy will make things right!

With so many suggesting Ryan isnt getting what he needs at SHR, then this Zippy guy should be able to see whats wrong and fix it? As Zippy said in an interview at Daytona testing, basically all the cars will be setup the same for whatever works the best so he should have the same car that Tony and Danica has and its up to him to just drive. Since he is an experienced driver, its common sense to say he should be much better then Danica in Daytona, long as there arent Mechanical or Pit issues etc. The big thing for Daytona is--who can get pushed enough and at the right times and most importantly without wrecking or getting caught in other crashfests, as many say even with nascar changes, the 2 car tandem is where the winner will come from?

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be snarky or mean... but after reading this, I'm a lil confused ...

- - "Then this Zippy guy" - - ... am I to assume you don't know who Greg Zippadelli is ... or who he has worked for before? ?

Greg is supposed to fix Ryan's problems? SHR's problems? When he's the crew chief for part time driver Danica?

Because a driver has more experience, they should always beat the rookies? Really? ?

Again sorry... just confused. How long have you followed this sport for?

Smokie 14, glad to help you. I grew up watching racing. First Indy cars, then when we moved to North Carolina, NASCAR. It is a way of life here. Greg Zipadelli was Tony's crew chief at JGR. Zippy was the only crew chief Tony had until he moved to SHR. Zippy was hired to be Director of Competition, but until they find someone capable of being Danica's crew chief, he will fill in as her crew chief. Zippy is very good with organizing and starting a new team. He and Tony won two Championships together. That is why Tony put Zippy in charge of organizing Danica's team. Hope this helps,

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be snarky or mean... but after reading this, I'm a lil confused --------------------------------------------------------------"

Whats so confusing? Some posters here are jumping all over Tony because they think Ryan needs help when apparently he hasnt said anything, but now they are hoping Zippy will do something? Far as Zippy--NO--I never heard of him before as i dont keep track of all the CC and not even most the drivers, as I've watched moreso Danica in Indycar and nascar just now & then. I know Tony and his history well and others but not CC etc, as I dont normally care.

And Yes--with Ryans experience he should easily have better results then Danica given the same equipment as noted, so whats the issue with that?? Danica struggles in NNs races and never driven a Cup car before now, so its simple to assume Ryan will easily do better then her, except for crashes or other issues etc. Besides Danica will be lucky to get other cup guys to trust her and push her as Tony wont be doing that the entire race as she needs to learn on her own anyway.

Still confused?

Nope... not confused anymore. You're an Indy fan, new to NASCAR, just as I was, some 20 years ago.

I get it now.

Annalee... thanks for the info... but I wasn't asking for me.

Yes ive followed Indycar much more then nascar untill now, however I know the major drivers, Gordon, Johnson, Edwards, Harvick, and stewart of course, etc etc but Ive never been concerned with CC untill now as Danica needs a good one for her Cup races since she is new to this series. She has a great CC in NNS with Tony Eury Jr who has basically taught her how to drive a stock car, along with lots of help from other drivers, and her spotter/coach Benson, as she has said.

Lets all just wish for a good Daytona race and hope that none of our SHR guys/gal are caught up in a crashfest or have other issues, then may the best driver who can push or get pushed well and stays out of trouble will win. Cant wait>

BTW--this is as good of thread as any--I've heard the qualifying format for Daytona is different, so someone want to explain, as i thought it was simply qualifying like other races?

Yes ive followed Indycar much more then nascar untill now, however I know the major drivers, Gordon, Johnson, Edwards, Harvick, and stewart of course, etc etc but Ive never been concerned with CC untill now as Danica needs a good one for her Cup races since she is new to this series. She has a great CC in NNS with Tony Eury Jr who has basically taught her how to drive a stock car, along with lots of help from other drivers, and her spotter/coach Benson, as she has said.

Lets all just wish for a good Daytona race and hope that none of our SHR guys/gal are caught up in a crashfest or have other issues, then may the best driver who can push or get pushed well and stays out of trouble will win. Cant wait>

BTW--this is as good of thread as any--I've heard the qualifying format for Daytona is different, so someone want to explain, as i thought it was simply qualifying like other races?

Personally speaking. I do wish none of the SHR guys get caught up in a mess at tona. I figure Danica & Tony will partner up a lot, during the race. As most of the other drivers out there will probably leave her out to dry. Tony will do what he can to help her throughout the whole race. Think it makes it worse however now that Tony wont be able to directly talk to her during the races. She could have learned so much faster if they were still able to talk to other drivers. Laast time I saw her on a plate track. I dont think she understand the switch (front to back, or back to front) in the 2 car tandem. I remember Tony yelling trying to get her to switch. She did well being pushed, not so well pushing. I imagine that is something they will work on a lot during speedweeks. Ryan on the other hand. I hope he does what he normally does on the plate tracks. I hope he works with Denny Hamlin again. They are an awesome duo, together. Not sure how Denny feels right now, after Ryan had to go back on his word to work with Denny last plate race, since Tony hooked up wwith Ryan. You know Ryan wasnt gonna bail on his teammate. (you know the race where Roush said no fords helping GM) So if Ryan/Denny combos comes back this season, that will please me immensely. I think those two might be the best duo in tandem racing.
As far as the 500 qualifying.
1st they qualify as usual. They secure the front row with those times.
then they have two races odd # fastest times race each other, then the even # fastest times race each other. The odd # race sets the inside of the line up & the Even # race (the 2nd race) sets the line up for the outside. The top 35 are given guarenteed spots. So basically since where you start really doesnt matter on a plate race, the only ones really worried are the drivers not in the top 35. So then the top 2 cars from each race that arent in the top 35 make the field. (4 total)
that sets the field from 3rd place to 39th (remember the front row was set on qualifying day)
Then they go back to the next 4 fastest times from qualfying, that isnt already in the field from the races, to finish out the field. Now unless a guy uses the Championship Provisional (which almost always happens) Then they only use the top 3 fastest times left not already in the field.

Now all this is off of memory, since I am too lazy to research this years rules, so it might be a little different this year, but this should give you an idea how it works.

Wow--thanks for all that qualifying rundown, sounds complicated to me. Oh well not much to do but sit back and watch.

Danica was pushing Tony pretty well during testing off & on with one slight mishap catching his bumper a little, and they did switch fairly quick so might not be as bad as we think? Their spotters will do what they are allowed for sure to let them know whats going on. Remember though she'll have the NNS race to get more practice as well, course Amirola is gone to cup so dont know if she wants to push that rookie or not or who might push her?