Tony Stewart grabs most of the headlines for the No. 20 Chevrolet team that has captured two Cup championships since 2002, but the man behind the scenes who has helped Stewart's car go fast since 1999 is crew chief Greg Zipadelli.

When Stewart and Zipadelli guided the No. 20 to a victory at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago, it was their first triumph of the 2007 season and their 30th together at the Nextel Cup level. Now they head to Stewart's favorite track for the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Stewart, a native of Indiana, won the pole in 2002 and the race in 2005.

In the midst of his ninth season paired with the mercurial and often controversial, outspoken Stewart, Zipadelli talked about their affinity for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, their relationship and what might lie ahead as they prepare to make their series-high 304th consecutive start together.

Q: Could you talk about your success at the Brickyard and how special it is to race there?

Zipadelli: I think everybody kind of raises and elevates their passion a little bit, because it's such a big deal to Tony. It's such a big deal to all of us. It's such a prestigious event.

The significance of that racetrack itself, and the history of it, and more importantly for us and our group, we know that it's something that's very special to our driver. It means an awful lot to go back there and hopefully have an opportunity to win our second race there. That would be pretty special.

Q: Is there something specific about the track that you guys like?

Zipadelli: It's just a fast track. I think it's a pretty tough racetrack. Your car has got to turn so good, and your front end's got to really work. You need real good aero. You need a really good motor.

I think it's a combination: you need track position, so you need good pit stops at that place -- because if you give it up, it's real hard to get back. It's just fun. You get those long, long straightaways, but then you get short chutes where your car turns different into (Turn) 1 than it does into (Turn) 2 because it's different and you have to drive to it. So there are just a lot of elements to that racetrack that make it special, make it tough to get around. I think it's a driver's racetrack. It's kind of like Pocono, kind of like the road courses to a little extent in that you have to have, I think, a versatile driver who can kind of move around and change his line because you're not going to get all four corners to be the same, and drive the same. They've got to be able to give up and make up some (in the corners).

Q: Could you talk about going there for the first time with Tony in 1999?

Zipadelli: You know, in '99 life was so overwhelming to be in the position we were in. I think we went there and finished sixth, if I'm not mistaken. We had a pretty good racecar. It was a pretty neat deal, walking in there for the first time and going through listening to the announcer go through the history and everything.

For myself, I had a lot of special moments in '99, going into places with the opportunity that I had and the opportunity that Tony had -- and the accomplishments that we made that year.

Q: You've been with Tony nine years and know him better than anybody. How would you describe your relationship?

Zipadelli: This is our ninth season, so it's been a long time. Obviously we've had our ups and downs, but we've been able to be honest with each other and respect each other. First of all, I respect his ability to drive; and, you know, I think he respects me as a person, a big brother and my ability to bring him decent racecars to the racetrack with my group of people.

We've had some tough days, and we've had some awesome days. But that's what relationships are about, what you build on for the future. When we're all said and done and he retires and I retire -- two years, five years, 10 years from now or whatever it is -- I think we'll have built a relationship where we'll still be friends and still understand each other and be able to still hang out and be even more than what we are here. I think we've been able to work on that.

Q: Has he changed much over the nine years you guys have worked together?

Zipadelli: I think he's changed a lot in nine years. I think he's mellowed a lot. There's a lot less little things that are there. He has handled a lot of situations very well that people don't see or don't give him praise or a pat on the back for what he's accomplished and for the level of maturity that he's shown.

Q: He quietly gives a lot to charities, doesn't he?

Zipadelli: He gives a lot back to the community. He gives a lot of money back. He gives a lot of his time to raise money for things that he believes in. I'm proud of him for that, because it's easy for us to get lost sometimes in the success, I guess, and forget where you came from or what's really important.

Q: You recently broke a 20-race winless streak with the win at Chicagoland. Does a streak like that make you appreciate the good times even more?

Zipadelli: It's hard to understand or explain why we've had so many opportunities this year where we didn't capitalize. A lot of the things have been out of our control; some of the things have been in our control, one way or another.

But (we said) if we continue to do what we've been doing, we can turn it around. ... We just keep our fingers crossed. I personally try not to look back at numbers so much. We get paid to come here and try to put ourselves in position to win every week. So you do that -- and when you put yourself in position to win at the end of the day, then you try to win. We've done that a lot this year, but we haven't won (more than the one race). That's a little frustrating.

You know, you say you don't think about (a winless streak like that) -- but I think it wears on you. The more it wears, the longer it goes. The little things add up and seem like they become big deals. It feels like we're faced with adversity now every moment. Every time we go out it's something that may keep us down.

Q: Like the recent controversy with teammate Denny Hamlin? Could you talk a little about what you thought happened when Denny and Tony got together and ruined both of their chances in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7?

Zipadelli: We had a phenomenal racecar. I really felt like we could have dominated that race like we have in the past, with the car that we had. It didn't work out. We didn't even give ourselves an opportunity to win that one. That's part of life; that's part of what goes on every day in this garage. And how you deal with it, how you work to try to overcome that is what I think is important.

Q: Is it hard to be patient when you have a car that good?

Zipadelli: I guess. I don't really have a whole lot of comments on that weekend. I just know it was frustrating for both parties, for both of our teams. Why and what you could have done different is tough to say ... I mean, you know, the 11 (Hamlin) slipped up and then we got into him. It's kind of no different than the 2 car (Kurt Busch) in the Daytona 500. That was kind of a racing deal. What made it worse was that as teams we didn't handle it probably the way we should have immediately. We've all learned from that. I think we'll be better moving forward because of the experience we've been through.

Q: You guys have always been a better team in the second half of a Cup season. Why is that?

Zipadelli: For what reason, I don't know. But if you look at our history, we've always won more in the second half than in the first half. I'll keep my fingers crossed and continue to pray that the good Lord gives us a good second half of the season again. I look back to last year and we missed the Chase by 16 or 17 points. There is one (entity) that has control over all that. I think that happened to teach us how important every race is, and how important teamwork is. As soon as we left Richmond, we went on a streak where we had a couple seconds, three wins, where we just dominated that last bit of the season.

And we didn't change doing what we were doing. We did the same things. We had the same racecars. We had the same people. When it's our turn again, it will be our turn. You just have to believe and you have to stay positive, and keep the people around you positive and working in the same direction.