Zarrella Enjoying Daytona 500 Victory
Jeff Zarrella reflected Sunday night after Stewart-Haas Racing and Kurt Busch captured their first Daytona 500.
A lap 128 crash sent Busch into the turn 3 wall and collected teammates Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Danica Patrick.
The former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion pitted multiple times to fix a left rear tire rub. The crew changed four tires again after Busch reported it was still rubbing. Zarrella saw the right side tires had no rubs. The team used that set of tires with 3 laps on it instead of a set of stickers. The team did not have time to glue the lug nuts so they carried the lug nuts to change tires.
Zarrella spoke with the pit crew after the race.
“I know you guys lay your head on your pillow at night and you dream of the final pit stop in the Daytona 500 and how you’re gonna click off a 10.5 second stop to win it,” Zarrella said. “If they had a tape of you guys on your last stop, it showed you carrying 5 lug nuts out there each and screwing ’em on by hand.”
New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski was on hand for the Daytona 500. The Super Bowl champion has his own beverage with NASCAR’s title sponsor.
“Gronk hung out with us all night long. He’s a pretty cool dude. He really enjoyed himself and we all got along good.”
Zarrella paid tribute to Mario Fiore on Monday by signing his name and number 44 on the Haas Automation No. 41.
“I felt that it was proper to put his name and his number right below my signature so he can sit in the Daytona museum for a year. ….. I’m sure Modified people that go down there and visit the museum will it will really resonate with them.”
Zarrella worked on the late Hall of Famer’s Modified team in the late 1980s. Reggie Ruggiero won at New Smyrna, Monadnock, Riverside Park, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driving for Fiore.
“Working with Mario is what actually got me my break to work down here in North Carolina and it was the notoriety that I received by the big wins that we had with Reggie … We won a lot of races so it opened doors for me.”
Stewart-Haas Racing’s move to Ford brought several changes entering this season. The team is running Roush Yates Engines and producing chassis in-house. The team was formerly aligned with Hendrick Motorsports and won two championships with Chevrolet.
“It was a big undertaking and we worked hard all winter long. To come out of the box and win the Daytona 500, it’s certainly a big shot in the arm. But now we go to the downforce tracks and then we got the West Coast swing, so the next 4 weeks (are) gonna be real important to see where we stack up with the competition.”
Zarrella spoke of the team’s focus for stage points and “maximizing points every single week” under the new points system. The races are run in three stages with points awarded to the top 10 in the first two stages. Playoff points will be given to stage and race winners. The playoff points will improve a driver’s seeding and give them a buffer.
“I don’t know what to expect at Atlanta and that’s why I’m really looking forward to it because I really wanna see where we stack up with the new chassis and the new rules and stuff there ’cause that will kind of give us a glimpse of what’s gonna happen on this West Coast swing.”
Some of the team members have been together for years. The team is selective in who joins.
“There’s certain people that we know will fit in ’cause we’re a tight group. … It’s a tough nut to crack making it on this team because we’re so tight and we play a big role in choosing who comes in.”
Tony Gibson hired Zarrella at DEI from Roush in 2004. Zarrella stayed with Paul Menard, while Gibson moved to Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s team. They reunited in 2009 at Stewart-Haas Racing and have been together since.
“I know the dance with Tony Gibson. We all know the dance and we all know whatever each other is thinking and what’s expected of each other and I think that’s the glue that keeps us together.”
A Tire Specialist handles one of the most important parts of the racecar. Zarrella is responsible for logging the serial numbers, manufacture date, and circumference of each tire. The tires are put into sets and he handles any air pressure adjustments from Crew Chief Tony Gibson. Beyond race weekend, Zarrella is responsible for the wheels and ordering test tires and equipment.
All the teams have the same information provided by Goodyear engineers. Zarrella noted the risk teams have by running lower air pressure.
“You wanna be right on that edge and go as low as you can go but not get yourself in trouble. … I can take it over to Goodyear and have it dismounted and look at the inside of it and there’s certain patterns I can see if we’re toying with disaster I can see it and we’ll make adjustments from there.”
Zarella is willing to help new people coming into the sport that are dedicated. He said the job is comparable to the center of the football team. Consistency is critical and it’s not a glamorous job.
Zarrella can share 38 years of knowledge in a day on how the tires aid in chassis setup. He cited Fiore as a teacher and sharing his own knowledge to give back.
“The tires are the vocal cord of the chassis. The tires if you know how to read ’em they’re speaking to you.”
The Southington, CT native is known as Jeff back home. Otherwise, he is known as Jet. He got the nickname from Mike McTeague while working at the shop while Jamie ‘the Jet’ Tomaino was coming up through the ranks.
The journey began 47 years ago. At 12-years-old, he wanted to work someday on the race cars in the pit area. His cousin Don Moon raced at the old at Plainville (CT) Stadium. The opportunity came with Carl Charette at Plainville and when they won a race it “was the coolest thing on earth.”
Zarrella became a Flemke fan during an Open Competition race on a Wednesday night since Flemke shared the same hometown.
“Eddie went on to win the race driving with one hand and it was just I thought it was the coolest thing.”
Zarrella started working at Flemke’s shop in 1978 sweeping floors and his first job was re-arching leaf springs with a hammer and a railroad tie.
“I learned so much from him just racing philosophy and stuff.”
The title of Daytona 500 champion is “pretty cool” to Zarrella. He compared the win to hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“I’m living proof that a 12-year-old kid sitting in the stands at Waterford, or Thompson, or Stafford can be sitting right where I am with a Daytona 500 ring on the way.”
NASCAR’s crown jewel is the latest example of Zarrella’s success. He has won throughout his career and is satisfied.
“I didn’t need this Daytona 500 victory to validate my career. … When I decide to walk away from this sport, the respect of your peers is one of the most important things.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com