Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Crew Chief Hosts “Zippy’s Crusade For Kids”
Greg Zipadelli says charity ride an opportunity to help those in need...
Kenny Bruce  | http://www.scenedaily.com  |  Posted January 23, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Greg Zipadelli's Crusade for Kids charity has its annual snowmobile event scheduled for this coming weekend. (Photo: Crusade for Kids)
He’s gone from overseeing one team as crew chief to competition director for two full-time teams and one that will run a partial schedule. Yet with the start of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season just around the corner, you won’t find Greg Zipadelli hunched over a computer or checking on the progress of Stewart-Haas Racing’s stable of cars next weekend.

Instead, Zipadelli, a two-time championship winning crew chief, will be deep in the Adirondacks, hosting the sixth “Zippy’s Crusade For Kids” charity effort next Friday and Saturday with help from friends, family, co-workers and fans.

The event, which includes auctions, meals and a day-long snowmobile ride, has raised more than a half-million dollars for charitable causes since its inception.

Many of today’s competitors have foundations through which they raise large sums of money to help address different needs. For Zipadelli, the idea for the ride and the reasoning behind its formation was simple.

“I’ve got a little sister, Tina. She’s in her 20s now,” he said. “My parents adopted her when she was 3. She was a battered child; the state had taken her from her parents. She’s paralyzed and in a wheelchair. She’s legally blind. I just saw my mom and dad, what they did and how hard it was on them to take care of her as they got older.

“I’m pretty fortunate to be where I’m at and I’m able to help them. We just got to talking and said, ‘You know what? We’re fortunate, we’re blessed so we need to try and give back.’ We talked about a snowmobile ride as a way to raise money and that’s what we did. It’s a way for us to give back. We’re just so blessed with where we’re at in our lives, three healthy kids, great job, rewarded financially for what we’ve done over the years. So we put it together.”

While he grew up “three and a half, maybe four hours” from Inlet, N.Y., site of the ride, Zipadelli said he has close ties to the area.

“Snowmobiling has been a passion of mine,” he said. “That’s where I used to hang out and what I used to do in the offseason before I moved [to North Carolina].

Through the years, various charities have benefited from funds raised by the ride. Victory Junction Gang Camp was one of the first and the Motor Racing Outreach program is also on the list of groups that often receive assistance.

But just as importantly, Zipadelli said he and his wife, Nan, have always tried to reach out and help those in the surrounding region.

“We try to do some stuff in that area; we try to give back because it’s a – I don’t know if depressed is the right word but people are struggling there,” he said.

“We kind of just spread it out, depending on what we are able to raise. People send in ideas and things to help families and people in need and we just try to do what we can.

“There was a little kid there last year and his family, they were just struggling. He’s in a wheelchair, going to be there the rest of his life ... [and] we built him a wheelchair ramp, he got to go to victory lane at Watkins Glen.

“That was a big deal for him, but you wouldn’t believe what it did for the parents. It just made their life a little easier.”

Among those scheduled to attend this year’s event are SHR crew chief Steve Addington and driver Tony Stewart, former Nationwide Series driver Mike McLaughlin and Joey Logano, Sprint car driver Donny Schatz and team owner Frank Stoddard, as well as MRN’s Steve Post and Speed’s Wendy Venturini.

SceneDaily.com • Talking history: Stories and quips from NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremony
kenny_bruce's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kenny Bruce

SceneDaily.com

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.