Pit boss heads to Red Horse Racing to run the No. 11 team
Red Horse Racing announced Friday afternoon that Scott Zipadelli will be crew chief for the No. 11 Toyota to be driven by Ben Kennedy next season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Since 2007, Zipadelli has had a recurring role as a crew chief in what is now the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The Red Horse job will mark his first venture into the truck circuit.
"Red Horse Racing is a well-respected organization that has had a lot of success in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and I am very excited to be a part of it," Zipadelli said in a release provided by the Tom DeLoach-owned team. "Ben (Kennedy) is a talented driver and I have high expectations for him and the No. 11 team. He had an outstanding rookie season, and our goal this year is to win races and put ourselves in position to contend for the 2015 championship."
Zipadelli has posted three XFINITY Series wins in his career -- two last season with Kyle Larson at the wheel, and one with Boris Said on the Montreal road course in 2010. His brother, Greg, is a 34-time winner as a crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and is currently the vice president of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Last month, Red Horse announced that Kennedy -- the Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the NCWTS in 2014 -- would join its driver lineup and that the field of crew chief candidates had been whittled to a short list. The hiring of Zipadelli fills the lone vacancy in its driver-crew chief pairings for 2015.
"Scott Zipadelli has great experience on top of the pit box and brings a lot to the program," Kennedy said in the team's release. "I am really looking forward to working with him and can't wait to unload our No. 11 Toyota Tundra at Daytona in February."
The 23-year-old Kennedy netted seven top-10 finishes for Turner Scott Motorsports in his rookie truck season, highlighted by having the number one starting spot for the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. In making the switch, he'll take on the role of teammate to Timothy Peters and crew chief Marcus Richmond in the organization's No. 17 Toyota.
The Camping World Truck Series' 23-race schedule opens Feb. 20 with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 (7:30 p.m., FOX Sports 1) at Daytona.